THE EDITOR, Sir:

How long will the 'powers that be' remain silent on the issues of the poor quality of diesel being unleashed by Petrojam on the unsuspecting owners of diesel-powered motor vehicles and equipment?

Just for the interest of the readers, the international standard for manageable sulphur content by the modern diesel engine is 10-15 parts per million (ppm), while the sulphur content in the diesel oil produced by Petrojam, from my understanding, is in the region of 5,000 ppm, which is 500 times the international standard.

This is creating havoc on the diesel engines brought into this country, to the detriment of the owners and also the dealers of these motor vehicles.

It is a shame - in an era when the world is clamouring for the efficient use of fossil fuel and the reduction in dangerous emissions that Petrojam and, by extension, the Government keep on unleashing on the unsuspecting public without any definitive time frame for addressing this problem.

The diesel engine is one of the most efficient converters of fossil fuel to power and its use is encouraged by the Government in the tariff structure for the importation of diesel vehicles, and rightly so. However, this should not be to the detriment of the consuming public and dealers.

Having bought a high-end European diesel-powered SUV four years ago - although having passing knowledge that Petrojam was selling diesel oil, I had not researched the matter enough - I now realise that after four years, after the warranty has expired, I am confronted with a starting problems in the mornings, only to be told by the dealers that the compression ratio of my engine is below normal and that I need a change of engine, which is due to the poor quality diesel oil put on the market by Petrojam.

I cannot understand why the motor vehicle dealers' associations, which have a strong lobbying power because of the revenue they garner for the Government, don't get more deeply involved, as they are the ones who are getting the complaints and being harassed and sometimes have to bear some of the costs involved when engines fail within the warranty period.

I think the Automobile Dealers' Association, on behalf of the owners of diesel vehicles, should file a class action against Petrojam for continuing to put poor-quality diesel fuel on the market; and the environmentalists, for having the level of sulphur dioxide emission into the atmosphere and its attendant effect of producing acid rain (if not already but in the near future), destroying our vegetation and thereby our watersheds.

HUGH SANDFORD (PE)

satyn@cwjamaica.com