UK fuel contamination

[mada85]

I've been observing the way this story has been playing out over the past week. There's nothing concrete I can put my finger on with this, but something about it has been nagging at my mind. I thought about the effects on people of the contaminated fuel and what follows is speculation ... or paranoia...

Depriving people of their car for a few days works quite well as a way of causing more general stress and tension. You have to get the kids to school, maybe two different schools, then to work on time, and your car breaks down half way there...you have to get roadside assistance to take your car to the garage…then you have no car for the school run, shopping or work for a few days...not to mention the repair bill...

Of course there will be some people who enjoy the extra holiday, but for those mired in the rat race, I think stress could well be the result.

Thousands of motorists were affected by the contaminated petrol in recent days...

Trading standards officers said [that silicon] damages oxygen sensors inside modern cars[…]

Auto spares manufacturers have run out of supplies of replacement oxygen sensors, garages are overloaded with repair work, and many people have had no car for a few days.

Earlier Greenergy, which supplies Tesco and Wm Morrison, said a component understood to be bought and used by Asda supplier Harvest Energy in the production of unleaded petrol had tested positive for excess levels of silicon.

Attention will focus on the Vopak distribution terminal in West Thurrock, Essex,[…]

How difficult would it be to introduce excess silicon into the manufacturing process? Or maybe someone really did make an honest mistake somewhere, and paranoia reigns chez mada85…

Harvest Energy said the contamination had not been detected before sale because routine standards testing of petrol did not include a test for silicon as it would not normally be in the fuel.

How convenient!

One supermarket halted sales of unleaded petrol in south-east England last night and another emptied its forecourt tanks after it emerged that silicon contamination was the most likely cause of the engine problems that brought thousands of motorists to a halt across the UK this week.

Supermarkets were clearing their pumps of "faulty" petrol which has hit thousands of cars[...]

If the USA attacks Iran, and Iran closes the Straits of Hormuz, and oil supplies to the west are disrupted, petrol will be in short supply. Is this fuel contamination episode a way of getting people used to petrol shortages and rationing? The timing is interesting.

Whatever reasons may lie behind this, it shows how centralisation makes it easy for parties unknown to cause widespread disruption.

 

[paulnotbilly]

I know of several people who filled up at tesco and been scared that this could affect them even though they are nowhere near the distribution point in essex. Special thanks to texaco; here I am in yorkshire & they've raised their price by 4p, I didn't get a look at the supermarket prices though.

PS: http://news.(dot)bc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6416385.stm

Supermarkets clear petrol pumps

Specialist contractors have been hired to help.
Supermarkets are clearing pumps of contaminated petrol blamed for causing thousands of cars to break down.

One industry group said the incident could force prices up by 2p a litre.

Earlier, supplier Harvest Energy said "unusually high levels of silicon" had been traced to four storage tanks at a depot in Essex.

It had not been detected before sale at retailers including supermarkets Tesco and Morrisons because routine tests did not look for the substance.

The faulty unleaded petrol has been blamed for damaging thousands of cars in south-east England.

More than 5,000 people have contacted the BBC to say they have been affected.

Harvest Energy shares tank facilities at the Vopak Terminals depot in West Thurrock with another oil company, Greenergy, which supplies both Tesco and Morrisons.

SILICON & SILICONE
Silicon is a chemical element - symbol 'Si'
Silicone is a chemical compound containing silicon and oxygen
Silicone can take solid or liquid form and is used as a lubricant and insulator
When silicon is found by tests on petrol it may indicate the presence of silicone

In a statement, Greenergy said a component understood to have been used by Harvest Energy in the production of unleaded petrol had tested positive for excess levels of silicon.

Morrisons has stopped selling unleaded fuel at 41 outlets supplied by the depot until tests are completed.

Tesco said it was emptying its unleaded tanks at 150 outlets in south east England and refilling them with uncontaminated fuel, but continuing sales.

Asda, which buys fuel from Harvest Energy, said it was replacing unleaded petrol at 30 forecourts in the south east supplied from the affected depot as a "precautionary measure".

Harvest Energy said it could guarantee no further contaminated petrol would be distributed.

An independent inspection company would be testing fuel stocks at more than 100 petrol stations.

"We are very sympathetic to the plight of motorists who have been affected by this problem with unleaded petrol," said Harvest Energy's managing director, Franco Bussandri.

The consumer has to foot the bill but this time it's not even their fault - Mike Stern, London

"We are working as closely as we can with our customers the retailers, to address such motorists' concerns."

"We would ask motorists who feel they may have been affected to contact their fuel retailer for advice."

Ray Holloway, from the Petrol Retailers Association, told BBC News 24 prices could be affected.

"The need to buy short-term replacements for this damaged fuel will have been noticed by the traders on the markets," he said.

"The cost price has been pushed up so it's very likely that motorists will notice on their forecourts in the next couple of days, a couple of pence more per litre."

 

[Barry]

Yes, it is very convenient. If nothing else it allows them to hike their profits (again), through collective punishment of UK's drivers. I fail to see how the petrol I buy in the far north has to be more expensive because a teensy weensy amount of petrol in the south was contaminated. But its no surprise.

Im pushing more and more towards the idea of getting a diesel car and modifying it to run on cooking oil, it will be handy to have an alternative source of fuel in the coming months...

 

[paulnotbilly]

As a further thing, the sainsburies supermarket petrol station is closed for "technical reasons", tescoes have signs saying the fuel is ok up here and you can keep buying from here and big ol' bad texaco raised the price by another 1p to catch all those not using sainsburies across the roundabout :(