This was stressed by Sudhir Singhal, acting director of the Indian Instituteof Petroleum (IIP) in his inaugural address at a workshop on oil recyclingunder the aegis of the Tribology Society of India.

Singhal said that serious attention needed to be given to the subject as ithad environmental, health and conservation implications. Hazardouscomponents in used oils make it extremely important that these used oils arere-refined properly, reducing the possibility of environmental pollution andhealth hazards besides conserving oil, a precious commodity the worldover.

SK Goyal, organising secretary of the workshop, said the lube oilconsumption in India had been around one million tonnes per annum for someyears now. Of this, about sixty per cent was indigenously produced whileforty per cent was imported. Goyal said about 150,000 to 200,000 tonnes ofused engine oil was generated every year in the country. As there was nocomprehensive policy for the management of used oil in the country, thisworkshop had been organised to focus attention on the subject, he added.

Seventy five delegates from the re-refining industry, regulatory bodies ofthe government, ministry of environment and forests, ministry of petroleumand natural gas, ministry of industry and the central pollution controlboard are attending the workshop.

Karan Dutt, president of the Petroleum Re-refining Assoication of India(PRAI) said on the occasion that used oil was not only a valuable resourcebut also a renewable resource if not re-refined, used oil could be extremelytoxic. ''one gallon of used oil can contaminste one million gallons ofwater'', he said.

The workshop, which began yesterday, is also reviewing the experience ofother countries in this field and will bring out a set of recommendationsfor action required to be taken in India regarding the process ofre-refining.