Press Release: Air quality: Commission welcomes EP vote to cut harmful vapour emissions from service stations

The European Commission welcomed the European Parliament vote of 5 May, 2009, approving the first reading agreement with the Council on legislation to cut harmful vapour emissions from fuel stations. The new directive will ensure that harmful petrol vapour which escapes during the refuelling of cars at service stations is captured and recycled. Petrol vapour contains benzene, which is known to cause cancer, and contributes to the formation of ground-level ozone ('smog'), one of the air pollutants most damaging to human health and the environment.