UAE to monitor diesel quality, curb pollution

The Emirates Authority for Standardisation and Metrology (ESMA) will issue a regulation, standardising specifications of diesel in the UAE starting mid next year, it announced in a statement on Monday. Once issued, Esma will begin to monitor diesel sold in all UAE petrol stations. As for imported diesel, distributors will have to present a third party test report from a reputable or accredited testing laboratory, which Esma will have to approve before it is granted a certificate of conformity and allowed entry into the country. The move aims to ensure that the quality of diesel traded in the UAE is uniform and complies with the country’s standard specifications, said Eng Mohammad Saleh Badri, Esma’s acting director general. “We have had very activecoordination and meetings with Adnoc, Emarat, Enoc and Eppco with regard to the mechanisms in standardising the diesel specification in the country. We have successfully finalised the scheme and we will issue the standards as well as the mechanism of implementing and monitoring the regulation by mid next year,” he added. According to the official, monitoring the diesel sold in local markets will guarantee its high quality and help reduce environmental pollution. “This regulation will help reduce gas emissions that are harmful to the environment caused by the burning of diesel, which is in line with the UAE’s strategy in preserving the environment.” The emissions produced by diesel vehicles are one of the major air polluting sources in the UAE.  According to a study by Dubai Municipality, the pollution rate of vehicles using diesel in Dubai is more than 53 per cent, while the pollution rates of the energy and industry sectors are 26 per cent and 21 per cent, respectively. A study conducted under the project, On-road Vehicle Emission Measurement Using Remote Sensing Device (RSD), on Dubai roads in 2008 revealed that vehicle pollution in Dubai is around 13 per cent (for vehicles using petrol) and is 19 per cent (for vehicles using diesel), which are high rates compared to developed countries as the pollution rate is 4.7 per cent in Canada, 2.5 per cent in Virginia, US, and 2 per cent in the state of Michigan. Moreover, as per Dubai Municipality’s 2009 statistics, 75,231 diesel cars in the city produce 1,718,572kg of CO2 daily; 2,456 diesel trucks emit 56,105kg of CO2 and 22,481 diesel buses emit 513,555kg of CO2 per daywith this data not including the emissions released by heavy vehicles. The new regulation will effectively and tangibly reduce the harmful emissions to the environment, caused by vehicles, buses and trucks, the Esma statement noted. The programme will be implemented in coordination with the UAE Customs offices, UAE Civil Defense departments, and other local authorities.