S.I. No. 374/1986:

THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (LEAD CONTENT OF PETROL) REGULATIONS, 1986.

THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (LEAD CONTENT OF PETROL) REGULATIONS, 1986.

The Minister for the Environment, in exercise of the powers conferred on him by section 3 of the European Communities Act, 1972 (No. 27 of 1972) and for the purpose of giving further effect to the provisions of Council Directive of 20th March, 1985, No. 85/210/EEC*, which relate to the lead content of petrol, hereby makes the following Regulations:--

*O.J. No. L96, 3 April, 1985.

1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as the European Communities (Lead Content of Petrol) Regulations, 1986.

(2) These Regulations shall come into operation on the 1st day of January, 1987.

(3) These Regulations and the European Communities (Lead Content of Petrol) Regulations, 1985 ( S.I. No. 378 of 1985 ) may be cited together as the European Communities (Lead Content of Petrol) Regulations, 1985 and 1986 and shall be construed together as one.

2. (1) A person shall not market unleaded petrol in the State unless--

(a) its benzene content, established in the manner set out in article 6, does not exceed 5.0 per cent by volume,

(b) its contamination by lead compounds calculated in terms of lead, established in the manner set out in article 6, does not exceed 0.013 grammes per litre, and

(c) its minimum motor octane number (MON) is 85.0 and its minimum research octane number (RON) is 95.0, both octane numbers to be determined in the manner set out in article 6.

3. Notwithstanding the provisions of sub-article (1) (b) of article 2, a person may, until the 1st day of April, 1990, market petrol as unleaded petrol where its contamination by lead compounds calculated in terms of lead, established in the manner set out in article 6, exceeds 0.013 grams per litre but does not exceed 0.020 grammes per litre.

4. The proprietor of a pump supplying unleaded petrol in accordance with article 2 or article 3 shall ensure, until the 1st day of April, 1990, that the pump is at all times clearly labelled to indicate--

(a) in the case of petrol marketed in accordance with article 2, that its contamination by lead compounds does not exceed 0.013 grammes per litre, or

(b) in the case of petrol marketed in accordance with article 3, that its contamination by lead compounds exceeds 0.013 grammes per litre but does not exceed 0.020 grammes per litre.

5. (1) A person who contravenes article 2 or article 3 shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £1,000 or, at the discretion of the court, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to both such fine and such imprisonment.

(2) A person who contravenes article 4 shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £100.

6. (1) The results of individual measurements under sub-articles (2) to (4) of this article shall be interpreted on the basis of the method described in International Standard ISO 4259 entitled "Petroleum products -- Determination and application of precision data in relation to methods of tests", pubished by the Interntional Standards Organisation in the year 1979.

(2) The benzene content of unleaded petrol shall be determined by the method laid down in the document issued by the American Society for Testing and Materials under reference ASTM D. 2267 (edition approved in the year 1978) using gas chromatographic determination with polar column and internal standard.

(3) The contamination of unleaded petrol by lead compounds shall be determined by the method laid down in the document issued by the American Society for Testing and Materials under reference ASTM D. 3237 (approved edition dated 31st August, 1979) using atomic absorption spectrometry.

(4) The octane ratings (motor octane number and research octane number) of unleaded petrol shall be determined by the methods described in International Standards ISO 5164 and ISO 5163, respectively, published by the International Standards Organisation (editions approved in 1977).

GIVEN under the Official Seal of the Minister for the Environment this

24th day of November, 1986.

JOHN BOLAND,

Minister for the Environment.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

These Regulations give effect to part of the Council Directive of the European Communities of 20th March, 1985, on the approximation of the laws of the Member States concerning the lead content of petrol. The Regulations which come into operation on 1st January, 1987, lay down the values prescribed by the Directive for the benzene content, the octane ratings and the permitted lead contamination of unleaded petrol.