Parekh Pravin P, Khwaja Haider A, Khan Adil R, Naqvi Ronaq R, Malik Abdul, Khan Khalid, Hussain Ghazanfar
Department of Environmental Health and Toxicology, University at Albany, New York, USA.
Environ Monit Assess. 2002 Mar;74(3):255-62. doi: 10.1023/a:1014296713553.
Pakistan is one of the few countries in Asia that continues to use only leaded-petrol as vehicular fuel. The concentration of Pb in its petrol reported in 1991 was the highest (1.5-2.0 g Pb L(-1)) of all produced by the various Asian countries and far exceeded the WHO's guideline of 0.15 g Pb L(-1). We have undertaken a study to trace and quantify this toxic element in the environs of Karachi. Pakistan's major metropolis, having more than 30% of the nation's total number of vehicles. In this article we report the Pb contents of petrol and diesel currently manufactured and marketed in the city. Samples of 'Regular' petrol collected in 1999 was found to contain 0.363 g Pb L(-1) (range: 0.335-0.390 g Pb L(-1)), a factor of 5 lower than that marketed prior to 1991. Its concentration in diesel fuel was much lower (0.017 g Pb L(-1)). Based on the available statistical data on the type and volume of vehicular traffic, we assessed that the current lead emission from vehicular traffic into the atmosphere is 391 metric tons a year, which is a factor of 2.7 lower than that estimated for 1989.
巴基斯坦是亚洲少数几个仍仅将含铅汽油用作车辆燃料的国家之一。1991年报告的该国汽油中的铅浓度是亚洲各国生产的汽油中最高的（1.5 - 2.0克铅/升），远远超过了世界卫生组织0.15克铅/升的指导标准。我们开展了一项研究，以追踪和量化巴基斯坦主要城市卡拉奇周边环境中的这种有毒元素。卡拉奇拥有该国超过30%的车辆总数。在本文中，我们报告了该市目前生产和销售的汽油和柴油中的铅含量。1999年采集的“普通”汽油样本中铅含量为0.363克铅/升（范围：0.335 - 0.390克铅/升），比1991年之前销售的汽油低5倍。其在柴油燃料中的浓度要低得多（0.017克铅/升）。根据关于车辆交通类型和数量的现有统计数据，我们评估目前车辆交通向大气中的铅排放量为每年391公吨，这比1989年估计的排放量低2.7倍。
