The Social Cost of Automotive Fuels |
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Automotive fuels are constantly taking the blame and criticism from the Government as the main cause of poor air quality conditions in the UK. Automotive vehicles emit a mixture of harmful gases including Sulphur Dioxide (SO2), Hydrocarbons (VOCs), Micro particulates (PM) and Nitric Oxides (NOx) to mention a few. Most people are aware of the terrible effects that these gases have on our air quality, but what are these emissions actually costing society? Cost per tonne of air pollutants from vehicle emissions have been quantified in the BeTa database in a report published by Netcen[1]. This study measured levels of pollution in the UK and the social cost per tonne of gas emitted based on the size of the population. Poor air quality due to high levels of NOx, PM, SO2 and VOCs impose social costs that are mainly associated with health care costs. Health problems resulting from these emissions include Congestive heart failure, Respiratory problems and Bronchitis. This table shows the social health costs in British Pounds per tonne of air pollutant emitted for different sized cities in the UK (based on the Necten report).
Comparing the levels of air pollutants that petrol, diesel and LPG engines emit per km travelled will provided us with an indication on which type of fuel has the greatest cost to society.
The following tables outlines the actual social cost of air pollutants from each fuel type based on per tonne of pollutants emitted in a small city (with an average population of 100,000 for example York) and a big city the size of Leeds (with a population size of approximately 1,000,000).
These results show, from an air quality perspective, that running vehicles on LPG has the lowest cost to society, by a considerable amount, when compared to other conventional fuels such as Petrol and Diesel. LPG, The Alternative Solution Technical advances have provided the UK with a wide availability of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) stations and high quality LPG conversions for cars is readily available. Recent trials by Norfolk County Council have shown that vehicles fuelled by alternative fuels produce a considerably lower percentage of harmful emissions when compared with standard vehicles running on petrol or diesel fuels. Alternative Fuels: A Benefit to Society The levels of harmful gases in the environment are costing society financially, economically and physically. The Norfolk County Council based their trials on hard working council vehicles, concluding that alternative fuel cars produce substantially less emissions, and therefore benefiting society. The cost of running LPG cars is dramatically less than standard petrol and diesel vehicles and does not require higher maintenance levels. Having more vehicles running on LPG engine in the UK would assist in reducing emission costs to society while improving air quality. The conclusions drawn here were limited to testing exhaust emissions only; further research into full life cycle emissions would be required to develop a stronger argument for alternative fuel vehicles and the benefits running a LPG engine on external costs to society. Individuals and organisations that adopt the environmentally-friendly alternative automotive fuels and technologies are not only generating cost savings for themselves but also for the larger society.
[2] Norfolk County Council, “Fuelling the Debate”
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LPG = 57.4p
Diesel = 128.4p
Petrol = 115.1p