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Water and
Sediment Found in Recope Gasoline
The Autoridad Reguladora de los Servicios
Públicos (Aresep) is the regulator of public
prices and services, however, it appears to
have no bite to its bark, as it finds itselt
without the power to sanction the state
refinery, the Refinadora Costarricense de
Petroleo (Recope), after finding gasoline
containing water and sediment.
The regulator says it found the elements in
samples taken from four Recope plants and in
seven gasoline products, between the last
week of February and first week in March.
The Aresp said it also found in the samples
gasoline mixed with ethanol.
In 2005 the Aresep eliminated the
regulations on the quality of gasoline that
is demanded of Recope, regulations that do
not include the sale of gasoline with water
and sediment.
And the eliminiation of the regulations do
not allow the Aresep to sanction Recope.
Experts all agree on one thing, water and
sediment in gasoline can cause severe damage
to engines in motor vehicles. And that the
problem will only get worse once the program
of biofuels takes effect.
Sanrda Gallegos, coordinator of the Calidad
de Hidrocarburos de Aresep, explained that
water and sediment in gasoline causes
corrosion. But, when you add alcohol, as in
biofuels, the water will mix with the fuel
and the engine will be burning a mix of
water and alcohol.
Recope says the water found in the gasoline
was minimal and that the refinery corrects
problems when it detects them. Bernardo
Aguilar, a technician for quality control at
the El Alto plant in Cartago explained that
they found only "traces" of water and it in
now way affects the product or the vehicles
the product is used in.
Aguilar added that his is the first incident
of its kind in the last eight years. |
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