Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec.25
By Fatih Karimov - Trend:
The Iranian environment department has urged the oil ministry to import high-quality and standardized gasoline because air pollution has reached an alarming level in big cities, the Mehr News Agency reported on December 25.
Several meetings have been held among officials of the environment department and the oil ministry in this regard. Moreover, it has been announced that all the cars should meet Euro-4 standards by the end of spring next year.
Currently, domestic refineries produce over 30 million liters of premium gasoline per day, but just around 13 million liters is supplied to big cities, including Tehran, Karaj, Isfahan, and Arak.
It is while some $14 billion has been invested to implement development projects in Shazand, Abadan, Tehran, Lavan, Tabriz, and Isfahan refineries to improve the quality of oil products.
Last year, according to PSI (Pollutant Standards Index), Iran had 147 days during which air quality was substandard. Two years ago, this number stood at 217 days.
The air over Iran's capital, Tehran, is amongst the most polluted in the world. Experts say many Iranians suffer serious health problems as a result.
Motor vehicles account for 70 percent of pollution in the Iranian capital. Low quality gasoline and diesel partially cause the problem.