Algeria, the last country on earth where you could still fill up your car with leaded gasoline, finally banned its sale last month. Lead additives improve the performance of gasoline and lubricate it to prevent engine wear, but the toxic fumes it produces are held to have caused millions of deaths. Lead toxicity in general is suspected of causing developmental disorder in children and leading to criminality in adulthood. So long, lead.
Most rich nations started phasing out the fuel in the 1980s, but it was still widely used in low- and middle-income countries until 2002, when the UN launched a global campaign to abolish it.
Leaded gas is still used in aviation fuel for small planes.
Funny how stories about consumer pollution often end with a quiet little reminder that the pollutant is still out there in wide use, just not by you. My favorite: lead paints are still available online, marketed as EM shielding.
