Opal is a variety of low-aromatic 91 RON petrol developed in 2005 by BP Australia to combat the rising use of gasoline as an inhalant in remote Indigenous Australian communities. [1]
Though more expensive to produce, requiring a $0.33/litre Federal subsidy, a 2006 report found it would likely save at least $27 million per year when the social and health costs of petrol-sniffing were taken into account. [2]
A 2010 senate report showed that the introduction of Opal in 106 communities across remote and regional Australia had led to a 70% drop in petrol sniffing in those communities. [3]
Typical unleaded petrol contains 25% aromatics, such as toluene, ortho-xylene and para-xylene. In contrast, Opal contains only 5% aromatics, which means that it has less of the toluene and other solvents which produce the intoxication (or "high") that inhalant users are seeking. The Australian Government subsidises Opal's provision and restricts traditional unleaded petrol in some remote communities. According to BP, the lower volatile component in Opal means that cars using it are less prone to vapour lock. [4]
Prior to the introduction of Opal, Comgas (a brand of the aviation fuel avgas) was used in many communities to discourage use of fuel as an inhalant. Unlike Opal, however, Comgas contains tetraethyllead (TEL), a poisonous substance that inhibits catalytic converters and is therefore banned for automobile use in most parts of the world especially after the discovery that it increased concentrations of lead particles over the entire earth, including the poles. [5]
Aromatic compounds or arenes usually refers to organic compounds "with a chemistry typified by benzene" and "cyclically conjugated." The word "aromatic" originates from the past grouping of molecules based on odor, before their general chemical properties were understood. The current definition of aromatic compounds does not have any relation to their odor. Aromatic compounds are now defined as cyclic compounds satisfying Hückel's Rule. Aromatic compounds have the following general properties:
Inhalants are a broad range of household and industrial chemicals whose volatile vapors or pressurized gases can be concentrated and breathed in via the nose or mouth to produce intoxication, in a manner not intended by the manufacturer. They are inhaled at room temperature through volatilization or from a pressurized container, and do not include drugs that are sniffed after burning or heating. For example, amyl nitrite (poppers), nitrous oxide and toluene – a solvent widely used in contact cement, permanent markers, and certain types of glue – are considered inhalants, but smoking tobacco, cannabis, and crack cocaine are not, even though these drugs are inhaled as smoke or vapor.
Gasoline or petrol is a petrochemical product characterized as a transparent, yellowish, and flammable liquid normally used as a fuel for spark-ignited internal combustion engines. When formulated as a fuel for engines, gasoline is chemically composed of organic compounds derived from the fractional distillation of petroleum and later chemically enhanced with gasoline additives. It is a high-volume profitable product produced in crude oil refineries.
Toluene, also known as toluol, is a substituted aromatic hydrocarbon with the chemical formula C6H5CH3, often abbreviated as PhCH3, where Ph stands for phenyl group. It is a colorless, water-insoluble liquid with the odor associated with paint thinners. It is a mono-substituted benzene derivative, consisting of a methyl group (CH3) attached to a phenyl group by a single bond. As such, its systematic IUPAC name is methylbenzene. Toluene is predominantly used as an industrial feedstock and a solvent.
A filling station is a facility that sells fuel and engine lubricants for motor vehicles. The most common fuels sold in the 2010s were gasoline and diesel fuel.
Petrochemicals are the chemical products obtained from petroleum by refining. Some chemical compounds made from petroleum are also obtained from other fossil fuels, such as coal or natural gas, or renewable sources such as maize, palm fruit or sugar cane.
In organic chemistry, xylene or xylol are any of three organic compounds with the formula (CH3)2C6H4. They are derived from the substitution of two hydrogen atoms with methyl groups in a benzene ring; which hydrogens are substituted determines which of three structural isomers results. It is a colorless, flammable, slightly greasy liquid of great industrial value.
An octane rating, or octane number, is a standard measure of a fuel's ability to withstand compression in an internal combustion engine without undergoing pre-ignition. The higher the octane number, the more compression the fuel can withstand before detonating. Octane rating does not relate directly to the power output or the energy content of the fuel per unit mass or volume, but simply indicates gasoline's resistance to detonating under pressure without a spark.
Shell V-Power is the brand name given to Shell's enhanced high specification fuels for road motor vehicles including Shell V-Power Nitro+ and Shell V-Power Diesel. Introduced in Italy in 2001, Shell relaunched the fuel in March 2008, under the name Nitrogen-Enriched Shell V-Power, with nitrogen-containing detergents.
The Warlpiri Youth Development Aboriginal Corporation (WYDAC), formerly known as the Mt Theo Program and then the Mt Theo-Yuendumu Substance Misuse Aboriginal Corporation, is a provider of youth services and programs for young Warlpiri people, founded and run by Warlpiri people in Central Australia, with its home base in Yuendumu community. It was previously a successful youth diversion and development program.
An antiknock agent is a gasoline additive used to reduce engine knocking and increase the fuel's octane rating by raising the temperature and pressure at which auto-ignition occurs. The mixture known as gasoline or petrol, when used in high compression internal combustion engines, has a tendency to knock and/or to ignite early before the correctly timed spark occurs.
Aṉangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara, also known as APY, APY Lands or the Lands, is a large, sparsely-populated local government area (LGA) for Aboriginal people, located in the remote north west of South Australia. Some of the Aṉangu (people) of the Western Desert cultural bloc, in particular Pitjantjatjara, Yankunytjatjara and Ngaanyatjarra peoples, inhabit the Lands.
Watarru Community is an Aboriginal community in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) lands in South Australia. Watarru Community sits at the foot of Mount Lindsay and the community has at times been known as "Mount Lindsay".
Indigenous Australians are people with familial heritage from, and/or recognised membership of, the various ethnic groups living within the territory of present day Australia prior to British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups, which includes many ethnic groups: the Aboriginal Australians of the mainland and many islands, including Tasmania, and the Torres Strait Islanders of the seas between Queensland and Papua New Guinea, located in Melanesia. The term Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples or the person's specific cultural group, is often preferred, though the terms First Nations of Australia, First Peoples of Australia and First Australians are also increasingly common; 812,728 people self-identified as being of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander origin in the 2021 Australian Census, representing 3.2% of the total population of Australia. Of these Indigenous Australians, 91.4% identified as Aboriginal; 4.2% identified as Torres Strait Islander; while 4.4% identified with both groups. Since 1995, the Australian Aboriginal flag and the Torres Strait Islander flag have been official flags of Australia.
The main fuel tax in Australia is an excise tax, to which Goods and Services Tax ("GST") is added. Both taxes are levied by the federal government. In Australia the GST is applied on top of the fuel excise tax. In some cases, businesses may be entitled to exemptions or rebates for fuel excise tax, including tax credits and certain excise-free fuel sources.
Benzene is an organic chemical compound with the molecular formula C6H6. The benzene molecule is composed of six carbon atoms joined in a planar hexagonal ring with one hydrogen atom attached to each. Because it contains only carbon and hydrogen atoms, benzene is classed as a hydrocarbon.
Samson and Delilah is a 2009 Australian drama film directed by Warwick Thornton and starring Rowan McNamara and Marissa Gibson, both young first-time actors. The film depicts two Indigenous Australian 14-year-olds living in a remote Aboriginal community who steal a car and escape their difficult lives by going to Alice Springs. It won many awards, including the Caméra d'Or at Cannes for best first feature.
In the petroleum refining and petrochemical industries, the initialism BTX refers to mixtures of benzene, toluene, and the three xylene isomers, all of which are aromatic hydrocarbons. The xylene isomers are distinguished by the designations ortho –, meta –, and para – as indicated in the adjacent diagram. If ethylbenzene is included, the mixture is sometimes referred to as BTEX.
Rugby boys are a collective term for gangs of street children found in the Philippines. They are one of the most well-known poverty-afflicted people found in the slums of the Philippines. They are known for using and being addicted to a contact cement known as "Rugby" brand manufactured by Bostik and other aromatic solvents to alleviate their hunger, and resulting in crime to fund their addiction.
Indigenous health in Australia examines health and wellbeing indicators of Indigenous Australians compared with the rest of the population. Statistics indicate that Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders are much less healthy than other Australians. Various government strategies have been put into place to try to remediate the problem; there has been some improvement in several areas, but statistics between Indigenous Australians and the rest of the Australian population still show unacceptable levels of difference.