But even if lead, compared to mercury, should be considered as less toxic element,
even if it seems that there is no immediate danger that rising lead concentrations in
the marine environment could disturb the marine ecosystem or render marine food
unfit for human consumption, even then it cannot be countenanced that approximately 8% of the lead produced in mines is distributed so finely and irretrievably by
automobile exhaust gases throughout the biosphere that there is no prospect of
recovering it. In the Federal Republic of Germany, the maximum allowable concentration of lead in gasoline was lowered in 1976 from 0.4 gil to 0.15 gil. Cars are still
running. Other countries pretend to be unable to go below the limit of 0.4 gil which
will become standard in the European Community by 1981.
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even if it seems that there is no immediate danger that rising lead concentrations in
the marine environment could disturb the marine ecosystem or render marine food
unfit for human consumption, even then it cannot be countenanced that approximately 8% of the lead produced in mines is distributed so finely and irretrievably by
automobile exhaust gases throughout the biosphere that there is no prospect of
recovering it. In the Federal Republic of Germany, the maximum allowable concentration of lead in gasoline was lowered in 1976 from 0.4 gil to 0.15 gil. Cars are still
running. Other countries pretend to be unable to go below the limit of 0.4 gil which
will become standard in the European Community by 1981.
163