By John Hadoulis
The imminent implementation of new European Union rules on car emissions, set to come into effect on January 1, has jumpstarted a debate on diesel fuel that was considered dead and buried in Greece.
Two decades after authorities severely curtailed diesel use in cars to protect Greek lungs, buildings and monuments, automobile manufacturers and scientists alike are increasingly arguing that the ban should be reconsidered in light of radical engine and fuel improvements.
Experts agree that new technology has levelled out the pollutant field to the point that favouring petrol or diesel has become a matter of chemical subjectivity. Whereas the odds were once roundly stacked against diesel, today the choice hinges on what chemical emission cocktail one considers more harmful. "Our studies must focus... on what kind of smog we're looking for," Panagiotis Siskos, a professor of analytical chemistry at the University of Athens, told a November 24 press conference on diesel use, health and the environment.
"Do we want to exacerbate a Los Angeles-style kind of smog based on ozone and photochemical [by-chemicals], or accept a London-style smog of sulphur dioxide and particulate matter (Pm)?" he said. The latter is associated with old-style diesel engines, which automakers are no longer permitted to produce. Athens currently suffers from photochemical smog, caused by the effects of sunlight on nitrous oxides and hydrocarbons largely emitted by petrol engines.
Under EU regulations, all diesel and petrol-fuelled cars produced after 1 January 2005 must obey a compulsory standard - labelled Euro IV - designed to cut carbon monoxide, nitrous oxides, hydrocarbon and particle emissions.
Pointing to the new engine technology, plus the advent of fuel low on sulphur dioxide, diesel proponents say it is high time to open the Greek market to more than just the heavy-duty trucks, buses and taxis currently allowed to circulate. According to the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association, in 2003 only 1.5 percent of new vehicles in Greece ran on diesel, compared to a European Union average of 44.3 percent.
Handle with care
The question is whether Greece, with its poor environmental and inspection record, is ready to experiment with new diesel technology that works best when properly serviced. Past experience shows that state vigilance is lacking on a variety of fronts, ranging from emission checks to fuel pricing and quality.
For example, University of Athens' Siskos noted that sulphur dioxide emissions from diesel-powered taxis would probably be lower had Athens cabbies not found a method of obtaining cheaper, yet inappropriate, fuel for their cars.
"It has been observed that taxis extensively use marine diesel instead of car diesel [which is more refined]," he said. "Farmers do the same for their tractors." The problem, Siskos added, lies with the Greek state's failure to standardise diesel prices. Arguing that diesel "is neither an angel nor a devil, a murderer or a saviour," George Panigirakis, a professor of marketing at the Athens University of Economics and Business, pointed out that even new technology can be of minimal help unless it is properly maintained.
"Professional cars [such as trucks and taxis] never undergo emissions checkups," he said. "Have you seen their exhausts?"
Ministry doubts
Faced with this dilemma, Public Works and Environment Minister George Souflias on November 22 announced that any decision to relax Greece's diesel ban requires careful consideration.
"I believe that this implementation requires an environmental effects study," the minister told reporters. "And the public works ministry has received no such request from any authority," he added.
Welcoming Souflias' statement, the Greek branch of environment activists Greenpeace on November 23 presented a report titled "Diesel: the silent killer". Citing a variety of sources, including the American Lung Association, the US Environmental Protection Agency and the British parliamentary office on science and technology, the report claims that a one-hour exposure to diesel emissions can cause respiratory complications and eye inflammation.
Greenpeace member Stelios Psomas quoted figures showing that in Germany and Denmark authorities have recorded higher nitrous oxide and particulate matter levels than expected simply because car owners have tinkered with their engines.
"If countries like Germany and Denmark have trouble with emission checks, what should we expect in a 'looser' country such as Greece?" wondered Psomas. He added that according to public works ministry figures released in 2002, thirty percent of Athens vehicles do not even have an emissions checkup card.
The Greenpeace report also pointed to figures from Urban Audit (www. urbanaudit. org), an EU-backed survey of 258 European cities, showing that the atmosphere of six Greek cities routinely exceeds acceptable Pm10 concentration levels. Thessaloniki, Athens, Larissa and Patras head the European top ten chart for days per year on which Pm10 levels are exceeded, followed by Ioannina at number eight and Iraklio at number ten.
The debate is expected to heat up again on November 30 during a conference on diesel use addressed by university professors, ministry officials, ecologists and automobile and fuel industry representatives. The conference is hosted by Ecocity, a Greek non-profit organisation.
(From Athens News, 26/11/04)