Originally Posted by
Kelly Slater
In the 90's many isolated communities removed ULP from the bowsers and only sold Avgas and Diesel. I assume that it was 100LL but I don't know that for sure. Petrol sniffing stopped almost overnight as the Avgas available didn't cause intoxication.
Around 2000, all leaded fuel was phased out from sale in Australia. If the main problem identified with the current round of sniffing is lead then this must not have applied to Avgas but either way, the Avgas supplied now must be different to that supplied 20 years ago. Go back to the old fuel and the problem is solved. GA in Australia is in such decline that the small amount of Avgas used is unlikely to impact the environment anyway, whatever it is.
The specification and formula for Avgas changed in 2004, when BP lowered the lead level and increased the PAH level.
In mid-2004 BP Australia, producer of Avgas, announced its intention to change the formula for Avgas fuel by reducing the lead content and increasing the level of aromatic hydrocarbons.
The new fuel would be environmentally friendly - but no longer unsniffable. At around the same time, BP also began work on a potential replacement for Avgas in Aboriginal communities by producing a new vehicle fuel containing no lead and very low levels of the aromatic chemicals that give other forms of petrol their intoxicating properties.
The new fuel, known as Opal, was launched in February 2005 (Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing, 2007).
Like Avgas, Opal was subject to a Commonwealth subsidy. However, whereas the original subsidy had been paid to distributors, under the new version a subsidy of around 33 cents per litre was paid to BP Australia in recognition of the higher production costs of Opal fuel.
19 pages of accurate Health Dept reporting in the link below, with regard to the petrol-sniffing problem amongst the Indigenes.
Petrol Sniffing Interventions