Nice phase

Recently, the Environmental protection Agency (EPA) in the us accomplished one of its most well known
public health campaigns of the past
quarter century, when it officially
ended the phase-out of lead from
gasoline.

According to a ruling issued by
the EPA on January 29, automobile
manufacturers in the us will no
longer need to post labels stating
"unleaded fuel only", and gasoline
refiners and importers will be
relieved of some record-keeping
requirements. And these measures
are no longer necessary, because the
few remaining lead-gasoline sales
that had been permitted in the US,
were outlawed under the country's
Clean Air Act.

Phasing out of lead in gasoline
started in the US in the '70s. There
was hardhitting evidence that lead in
gasoline caused neurological damage
in children, including mental retardation. As a result of the phase-out.
blood-lead levels in children have
declined by 70 per cent, stressed the
EPA.

Initially. the technology on which
the lead phase-out was based. was
considered somewhat speculative.
But over time it became well documented. And environmentalists now.
in fact, are citing the instance of lead
phase-out to buttress the case for a
better safe-than-sorry approach to
regulation observation.