Toxic diesel: No end in sight

Despite the huge public outcry against toxic diesel sold in Ghana which endangers the health of the citizens, in the later part of last year, it appears very little has been done to address the situation.

According to information, the inability of Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) to process European standard diesel compelled the Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) and other stakeholders to peg diesel quality with a sulphur content of 500ppm for local refineries.

Therefore, Ghanaians have to wait until such a time the (TOR) is able to raise over $200million to procure state-of-the-art equipment capable of processing 50 Parts Per Million (PPM) diesel.

TOR doing 1,000ppm

Information gathered by The Finder indicates that even the 500ppm is not being enforced and as a result, TOR is doing about 1,000ppm for diesel and 500ppm for petrol.

BDCs doing 50pmm to 2,200ppm

The imports of Bulk Oil Distributors are said to range from 50pmm to 2,200ppm but the breakdown could not be provided immediately.

Public Eye says sulphur content 378 times more sulphur than permitted in Europe

According to a report published last year by Public Eye, a Swiss-based NGO, which is partner to Ghana’s ACEP, some European companies have been shipping toxic diesel to many African countries, including Ghana.

The report revealed that the diesel samples contained up to 378 times more sulphur than is permitted in Europe.

Negative impact on Health

Health studies show that exposure to diesel exhaust, especially that of toxic diesel, primarily affects the respiratory system and worsens asthma, allergies, bronchitis, and lung function.

There is some evidence that diesel exhaust exposure can increase the risk of heart problems, premature death, and lung cancer,

Ghana Standards Authority pegs 500ppm

Speaking to The Finder on when Ghanaians should expect to start enjoying European standards of 50ppm diesel and 10ppm petrol, Kofi Amponsah Bediako, Head of Public Affairs of Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) said after several meetings, stakeholders agreed to 500ppm because TOR in its current form could not process European standard diesel of 50ppm.

He explained that TOR has been given a grace period to procure the needed equipment to enable it process the European standard diesel for Ghanaians to start enjoying the benefit of clean diesel in 2018.

He was quick to add that the ability of TOR, a state-owned refinery, to procure the required state-of-the-art equipment would determine how soon Ghanaians would enjoy the 50ppm diesel.

Even though the sulphur content of 500ppm is still high, Amponsah Bediako told The Finder that it is far better quality than Ghana’s West African neighbours.

CBOD holds different view

However, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Chamber of Bulk Oil Distributors (CBOD), Mr Senyo Hosi, is of the view that the 500ppm set by GSA should be the worst scenario.

He explained that while the GSA standard is a waiver for local refineries due to peculiar challenges with equipment, the regulator, National Petroleum Authority (NPA) can set the 50mm diesel standard for importers and enforce it.

This, he said, would offer customers a choice to either buy 500ppm from local refineries or 50ppm from importers.

Ghana Automobile Distributors Association

When the toxic diesel saga broke, the Ghana Automobile Distributors Association (GADA) reiterated its call on government to, as a matter of urgency, pass a fuel standardisation policy for the country.

This, the association said, would clearly stipulate fuel standards for vehicles in Ghana.

According to the association, this is critical to saving unsuspecting Ghanaians and government from buying vehicles and running them on the wrong fuel and spending so much money on frequent repairs, polluting the environment as well as creating health problems.

Savings in vehicle repair cost

GADA said such a policy would save the country millions of Cedis in repair cost, prolong the lifespan of vehicles, and protect the environment as well as the health of the people.

The association stated that the performance of a vehicle and its lifespan are directly linked to the performance of the fuel it uses.

Toxic diesel corrodes inside of metallic cylinders

The current high sulphur content in diesel sold in Ghana is acidic and, therefore, corrodes the inside of the metallic cylinders.

Within a short period, the engine loses power which results in high consumption of engine oil leading to emission of carbon monoxides which is harmful to the environment and human health.

GADA explained that emissions from diesel cars are lower compared to petrol and, therefore, diesel saloon cars are ideal for Ghana.

They lamented that accredited dealers cannot import saloon cars that use diesel into the country because of high sulphur content in Ghana’s diesel.

For example, Ford has designed 1.0 engine car but would not supply it to dealers in Ghana because of the high sulphur content in Ghana’s diesel.

Also, GADA observed that BMW X3 with 2.0 engines are imported into Ghana, the engines have to be changed into bigger engines before they can function.

For unexplained reasons, bigger diesel engines are able to run on diesel sold in Ghana for sometime even though such engines still break down earlier than their lifespan.

Some of the affected vehicles in Ghana include Ford F350 and Toyota Tundra, which is also used by the Ghana Police Service.

Research Octane Number of diesel

Research Octane Number (RON) of petrol sold in Ghana ranges between 91 and 94 while the only type of diesel sold in Ghana has higher sulphur content.

The policy should restrict the importation of vehicles as only cars designed to use fuel in the policy should be imported into the country.

Cars manufacturers only give cars designed to use the fuel in Ghana to accredited vehicle distributors, to prevent them from importing vehicles that use other fuel not found in Ghana.

However, non-accredited dealers are said to import all kinds of vehicles which use higher grade of fuel not found in Ghana.

Spare parts of such vehicles are also not sold in Ghana and, therefore, owners have to order ineffective parts from abroad.

‘African quality’ diesel report

According to the report, Swiss commodity traders, Trafigura and Vitol, are among a number of companies accused of exporting what environmentalists call ‘African quality’ diesel, blending products in European facilities to create fuels with sulphur levels that are, sometimes, hundreds of times over European limits.

The report said more than two-thirds of the diesel samples (17 out of 25) had a sulphur level higher than 1,500 parts per million (ppm), which is 150 times the European limit of 10 ppm.

2,410ppm and 2,730 ppm in Ghana

GSA approved sulphur content of 3,000 ppm, but the research found Ghana’s diesel products imported by Trafigura and Vitol to contain between 2,410 and 2,730 ppm, which is lower than the acceptable GSA limits but much higher than the 10ppm European standard.

EU/USA 50ppm and 10ppm

In the European Union, the ‘Euro IV’ standard has applied since 2005, which specifies a maximum of 50ppm of sulfur in diesel fuel for most vehicles.

Ultra-low-sulfur diesel with a maximum of 10 ppm of sulfur has been widely available as of 2008.