IMPACT OF ROAD SIDE OIL AND FUEL
Isthere going to be an end to road side selling of fuel and oil? The answer to this question is with consumers.
This trade has persisted for decades not just in Zambia but in several other countries. This illicit trade is older than me. Understanding the matrix of where traders get their commodity from reveal many sources. Fuel and oil is a regulated commodity calling for specialized handling and storage. It is never in dispute that one litre of oil can contaminate up to one million litres of water. Imagine how many litres get spilled into the ground per year and how many litres of underground and surface water get contaminated.
I know that people trading in this illegal business are trying to make some living but it is also important that they know the extent of contamination of underground and surface water. One litre can contaminate up to one million litres of water. It is an environmental disaster. When I consider the careless disposal of used oil from township garages, I get disturbed. In South Africa, more than 30 million litres of used oil is unaccounted for; meaning that it is disposed off carelessly. Calculating figures like this is simple. In case of Zambia, it is known that Oil companies sell not less than 20 million litres per year. The question is, “how much of this is collected in form of used oil for correct disposal?” I know that some Oil companies and some users of oil are doing their best but there still remains more work to be done.
Let me enlighten someone on how carelessly handled oil can affect you. It can affect your health and the environment. The conditions in which most road side traders keep their oil and fuel do not guarantee effective contamination control. More often than not, their dispensing containers are heavily soiled. The worst enemies of oil include dust, sand and water. These contaminants compromise even the best oil in the world. They make lubrication ineffective and shorten the life span of oil. There is no way someone selling fuel and oil on the road side can guarantee his customers outstanding quality.
The negative results may not be immediately felt but they do come. Consuming this product no matter how good the price is, is not a winning game. More often than not, quality at the source; be it from a tanker or drums is ok but the handling process, storage, spillages and potential co-mingling with other products makes this trade unacceptable. If someone mixes gear box oil and engine oil for profit reasons, you can not tell unless laboratory tests are conducted on the co-mingled oil. The implication of co-mingled oil on a machine can be financially breaking. Oil may look the same but it is different in application. The fact that we all have blood which looks red does not mean we can use blood interchangeably.
The traders of this commodity are driven by profits. Therefore, in some cases, they mix different oils and fuels. Imagine, they mix hydraulic oil and engine oil and sell the resultant mixture as engine oil, what will happen? Before I shed light on this question, let me underscore the reason they like mixing. Different lubricants cost different prices. They will pour some very cheap oil into some expensive oil and sell the resultant mixture at a higher price as though it is original. They will cash on your ignorance because it is not easy to tell the difference between the original and the fake. You can hardly tell by looking.
I have said before that oil is nothing but a mixture of base oil and an additive package. Base oils are derivatives of crude oil or special ones made in the laboratory; called synthetic base oil.
Base oils on their own achieve little when used as oil. They are therefore loaded with an additive package in to:
1) Impart certain desired properties which are not necessarily originally found in the base oil.
2) Suppress unwanted properties. Base oil has a lot of unwanted properties such as freezing when temperatures got cold. But when added with certain additives, the oil can remain “flowable” and liquid even at negative celcius.
3) Improve on existing acceptable properties. It is this additive package that separates boys from men as far as the industry is concerned. The quality and quantity of additives in oil has a telling effect on what that oil can do to your bank
The negative results may not be immediately felt but they do come. Consuming this product no matter how good the price is, is not a winning game. More often than not, quality at the source; be it from a tanker or drums is ok but the handling process, storage, spillages and potential co-mingling with other products makes this trade unacceptable.
account.
The package in hydraulic oil is different from the package in engine oil and so on and so forth. When these are co-mingled, both physical and chemical properties are compromised. You can not survive the potential co-mingling and contamination. Help protect the environment. Help protect underground and surface water. Protect your equipment by buying fuel and oil from legitimate sources. Protect your hard earned money by making wise decisions.