Report Highlights Benefits of Phasing Out Leaded Gas

Reduced cardiovascular disease, lower crime, higher IQ—these are among the $2.4 trillion in benefits linked to eliminating the use of leaded fuel worldwide, according to “Global Benefits of Phasing Out Leaded Fuel,” a new report from California State University, Northridge, to be published this month in Journal of Environmental Health.

Although the U.S. and other developed countries began phasing out leaded gas in the 1980s, the same was not true for developing nations. As a result of the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) headed up the task of eliminating leaded gas through a public-private partnership, which helped developing and transitional countries phase out leaded gasoline.

According to UNEP, the study shows the benefits of the near-global elimination of leaded gas:

• 1.2 million fewer premature deaths per year and 90% reduction in lead in blood levels.
• 58 million fewer crimes.
• $2.4 trillion costs saved per year.