Benzene boiler

Could not help but wonder why we bother rambling on about emissions and impact to health when I saw this.




With the increased use of Benzene in unleaded petrol, what better way to get it to atmosphere than to have it in a matt black tank in direct sunlight.

That said, the sales of asbestos crutched trousers are on the rise.

Best regards

Well the do gooders think its better to get CANCER from BENZENE than loose a few little grey cells to LEAD.
Great bike by the way.
Cheers
Dave

Plus Benzene coloured Polar Bears are far more less noticible than Lead tinted ones, but then W.A. is a long way from polar bears.

Overall I prefer the elegance of the bike to the cars behind

regards
Bernard

There has been no increase in benzene content of petrol for unleaded. In fact most modern petrols will have significantly less benzene than routinely used in the 70's & 80's.
I think EN228 the European specification for unleaded petrol now allows up to 1%, but none of the racing fuels we make contain more than 0.1% I'm not so sure about our calibration fuels as many are specifically designed for testing engines that may end up using poor quality third world fuels...

BTW I agree with frogherder on all his points - Benzene is colourless, and the bike looks so much better than the cars!

Nice bike

Thanks chaps.

Just did a check on the present levels. The EN228 does indeed specify 1% max yet for the UK, quoting:

"West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service
Petrol - Health Aspects of Benzene in Petrol
Ref FS- PAN717
Issue/Revision Date 01/06/2011
Review Date 01/07/2014
Version: 1.0

BENZENE IN PETROL
Over the past 50 years, benzene levels in petroleum derived motor spirit have varied considerably, depending on the refining processes used. In the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, the benzene content of marketed petrol’s has ranged from 0.5 percent to 30 percent by volume but since the 1970s has averaged 23 percent.
For a number of years, both before and after World War II, benzene containing hydrocarbons derived from coal gas production (benzol) were included in some petrol’s in brands like National Benzol. Such blends could have consistently high benzene contents, which in the extreme could reach 30 percent by volume.
In the 1960s, the lead content of petrol was by present standards also quite high, being up to 0.84 grammes per litre. Since then, the progressive reduction of lead in petrol has meant that more intensive refining has become necessary to maintain the high-octane quality previously obtained from the lead antiknock additives. Consequently, as lead content was reduced, various refining processes were developed to monitor octane rating, some of which had the effect of increasing slighting the benzene content of petrol.
In 1985 an EEC Directive was introduced which limited the benzene content of motor spirit to a maximum of 5.0 percent volume, Currently the average benzene content of petrol in the United Kingdom is 3 percent volume.
Contrary to some statements on this subject, benzene is not now added to petrol; it is a natural component of crude oil and its concentration may be increased by the additional processing at the refinery necessitated by the reduction or elimination of lead."

Either way it seems a bad option to have matt black fuel containment in direct sunlight situations.

Best regards