Vol. 408 No. 4
127 Mr. Garland asked the Minister for the Environment if he will outline his proposals in relation to the sale and use of benzene-free petrol; and if his attention has been drawn to the fact that Ireland is among the very few countries within the European Community which still use this petrol, which is linked with cancer.
The position in relation to benzene in petrol is not as stated in the question.
The European Communities (Lead Content of Petrol) Regulations, 1986 and the European Communities (Benzene Content of Leaded Petrol) Regulations, 1988 apply a limit of 5 per cent by volume to the benzene content of petrol marketed here. This is in accordance with the current EC limit.
Benzene emissions from vehicles will be progressively reduced by the increasing use of catalytic converters, the fitting of which will become mandatory for all new cars from 1993.
