FRONT PAGE | Tuesday, July 28, 2009 | Email | Print | 
Oilcos to cook up deadly mix of kerosene for poor
Durbar Ganguly | New Delhi
Toxin-mixed fuel may deter adulterators but will pose danger to users
After indirectly helping adulterators for seven long months to make money by diverting the kerosene meant for BPL families for mixing it with diesel, oil marketing companies (OMCs) are now thinking of introducing chemical markers which are hazardous for health and environment.
The OMCs argued that during the technical evaluation of the markers, the hazardous chemicals would be removed. This was in response to a query from the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas which sought a report on the possible ill-effects of the adulterated kerosene on users.
By diverting BPL quota of kerosene and mixing it with diesel, the adulterators manage to gain at least Rs 20 per litre. The kerosene mafia shares this money with dealers, law enforcers and officials of OMCs. In the wake of the public outcry after the brutal killing of young engineer Manjunath by the oil mafia, the Central Government had decided to introduce the kerosene marker programme. However, the programme ended in December 2008 after 27 successful months. But, since January this year, the adulterators are having a field day.
In order to check if the kerosene has been mixed with diesel, a chemical is added to the kerosene at depots. And, when the diesel is again tested at retail outlets, the chemical helps in detecting if kerosene has been mixed with the fuel.
During the two-year period when the programme was in operation, 2.8 per cent (954) of retail outlets in the country were found using kerosene in the road fuel. Regionally, some 7 per cent of the sites in the high kerosene throughput areas — West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa, UP and the Northeastern States — were found adding kerosene to road fuel. In other areas (including the metros) the level of malpractice had been generally below 1 per cent.
Now, the State-owned oil companies — IOCL, HPCL and BPCL — are in the process of identifying a vendor for continuation of the kerosene marker programme. The OMCs have before them two choices — using halogenated markers such as XRF (X-ray Fluorescence) or GC (Gas Chromatography) technologies. Unless the OMCs ascertain the quantum of the hazardous material mixed with kerosene and its harmful effects on man and environment either of these technologies can create long-term damage, said Ramesh Chandra, a former R&D head of a large chemical company.
These markers are harmful to the health of poor families that this programme is intended to help. These chemicals are toxic and are part of the 187 hazardous chemicals banned under the US Clean Air Act 1990. Therefore, the Ministry of P&NG had sought a clarification from the OMCs on the issue.
A check with reputed NGOs like Toxic Link revealed that there is no known adulteration check programme anywhere in the world which uses technologies proposed to be used by the companies. Hydrocarbon compounds containing halogens are highly toxic, mutagens and carcinogenic. Inhaling fumes generated from such treated kerosene can cause cancer.
The women of the BPL families, who usually suffer from nutritional problems, will be worst sufferers. No democratically elected Government can afford to close its eyes at the face of a grave health hazard where millions of hapless poor will end up facing a slow and painful death. Therefore, the Ministry had sought the views of the OMCs.
The marker will be applied to both PDS and industrial kerosene. Such kerosene is used, apart from BPL families, in industry and agriculture. The kerosene is used for running pump sets, DG sets and also for spraying pesticides on crops. The fumes will form additional toxic compounds like dioxins and will harm those who are exposed. Industrial and farm labourers will bear the brunt. The long-term ill-effect of the crops so contaminated will impact the health of even the rich households.
What is curious is that the OMCs did not obtain any clearance from the Ministry of Environment. When a decision of such dimensions is taken, fairness demands that the relevant Ministries should be intimated and allowed to bring in their expertise. In this case, only the three public sector oil companies are initiating the process. The officials of the Ministry of Environment have also taken up the issue. The Ministry has sought comments from the Pollution Control Board and OMCs, sources say.
The Kerosene Marker Programme (KMP) was launched by the Centre to put an effective check on the fuel adulteration. Kerosene is the fuel of the poor. But this fuel has been siphoned off in a big way for other uses. According to a report, an estimated 38 per cent of the kerosene meant for PDS do not reach intended users. The estimated loss to the exchequer is Rs 6,000 crore on account of lost kerosene subsidy. While the Government accounts for the money in its Budget, the poor continue to suffer. The KMP was launched to check this wrong-doing and restore the benefit to the intended users. Already tribals and poor people largely belonging to the lower castes, whose voice do not reach the high and mighty in Delhi, are not receiving their quota of kerosene. Little do they know that they will not live long if they use the marked kerosene.
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