Flawed fuel at the pumps

The quality of gasoline sold at Polish gas stations increased in H1 this year, but diesel fuel saw a significant decrease in quality, according to tests carried out by the General Inspectorate of Trade Inspection, a part of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK).

The inspection of randomly selected samples from 970 gas and diesel fuel stations and 541 LPG  stations found irregularities in 5.36 percent of gasoline samples, compared with 6.29 percent 12 months ago. Irregularities in diesel fuel inspected reached 7.03 percent - 5.98 percent more than the year before.

Problems were also found in 4.66 percent of LPG samples taken.

Almost 90 percent of irregularities concerned only one factor - most commonly the temperature of fuel ignition. Irregularities were most common in the Świętokrzyskie and Mazowieckie voivodships, in which 13.95 and 12.5 percent of gas stations had problems, respectively.

The inspection reflects certain local trends rather than a full picture of gas distribution industry, so it is impossible to say that Polish gas stations are safer or not from those in other European countries, according to UOKiK's Kamila Kurowska.

Transporting, storing and selling fuel that does not meet the regulatory standards is punishable by a fine of up to one million złoty or a prison sentence of five years, depending on the value of the fuel and the suspect's involvement in the crime, according to Polish law.