Baku, Azerbaijan, March 7
By Fatih Karimov - Trend: Gasoline which is produced in Iran's petrochemical units is low quality and harmful to the environment, the Mehr News agency quoted head of Iran's Environmental Protection Organization, Masoumeh Ebtekar as saying on March 6.
The department of environment has sent a letter to oil ministry in order to prevent supplying such gasoline into the market, Ebtekar added.
If the former administration had acted based on the law, we would have not seen such high air pollution in big cities, she said.
Iran plans to turn to high-quality and standardized gasoline in order to reduce the capital's constantly increasing air pollution.
The managing director of National Iranian Oil Refining & Distribution Company, Abbas Kazemi, said on January 6 that Tehran's gas stations will only distribute gasoline conforming to Euro-5 standard in two years.
Iran currently distributes 13 million liters of gasoline conforming to Euro-4 and Euro-5 standards in big cities including Tehran, Karaj, Isfahan, and Arak.
Iran currently imports some gasoline and octane boosters, Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said. Mehr News Agency puts the figure at five to seven million liters per day.
The Mehr News Agency reported on Dec. 25 that 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.
Several meetings have been held between 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.
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 is partially responsible for the problem.