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| Supermarket cuts unleaded sales | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Morrisons supermarket has withdrawn unleaded fuel from sale at 41 outlets following the "faulty fuel" alert. | |
| Tests on petrol taken from the tank of a car affected by allegedly faulty fuel have detected the presence of silicon, trading standards officers have said. | Tests on petrol taken from the tank of a car affected by allegedly faulty fuel have detected the presence of silicon, trading standards officers have said. |
| Morrisons said it was taking the 'precautionary measure' at locations supplied by the Vopak depot in Essex - at the centre of suspicions over fuel. | |
| The 237 sites not supplied by Vopak supply will still sell unleaded. | |
| Faulty unleaded petrol has been blamed for damaging thousands of cars. | |
| Many drivers said they had filled up their cars at Tesco or Morrisons petrol stations before problems started. | |
| Silicon products are used in diesel as anti-foaming agents, but can cause "serious problems" in petrol engines, a trading standards official said. | Silicon products are used in diesel as anti-foaming agents, but can cause "serious problems" in petrol engines, a trading standards official said. |
| Silicon can build up as a deposit on sensors causing them to malfunction Ian Hillier,Trading Standards Institute | Silicon can build up as a deposit on sensors causing them to malfunction Ian Hillier,Trading Standards Institute |
| Cambridgeshire County Council's trading standards department had the fuel sample tested at a London forensic science laboratory. | Cambridgeshire County Council's trading standards department had the fuel sample tested at a London forensic science laboratory. |
| Ian Hillier of the Trading Standards Institute said in a statement that silicon could particularly cause problems in modern cars with computerised fuel management systems. | Ian Hillier of the Trading Standards Institute said in a statement that silicon could particularly cause problems in modern cars with computerised fuel management systems. |
| "Silicon can build up as a deposit on sensors causing them to malfunction," he said. | "Silicon can build up as a deposit on sensors causing them to malfunction," he said. |
| The findings were preliminary and further tests were being carried out, he said. | The findings were preliminary and further tests were being carried out, he said. |
| Insulator | Insulator |
| A spokesman for Cambridgeshire Trading Standards said detecting silicon in the fuel could indicate the presence of silicone, the chemical compound containing the element. | A spokesman for Cambridgeshire Trading Standards said detecting silicon in the fuel could indicate the presence of silicone, the chemical compound containing the element. |
| Silicone is used in industry as an insulator and for lubrication. | Silicone is used in industry as an insulator and for lubrication. |
| The spokesman said oxygen sensors from faulty cars were being sent to a laboratory for analysis to discover what had made them stop working. | The spokesman said oxygen sensors from faulty cars were being sent to a laboratory for analysis to discover what had made them stop working. |
| The petrol has been traced to a storage depot in Essex. The fuel industry is testing its own supplies. | The petrol has been traced to a storage depot in Essex. The fuel industry is testing its own supplies. |
| It is thought silicone may have found its way into a batch of petrol in transit by ship into the UK or in storage containers. | It is thought silicone may have found its way into a batch of petrol in transit by ship into the UK or in storage containers. |
| Automotive expert Professor Malcolm Fox, from the University of Leeds, said low levels of silicone could affect a car's performance. | Automotive expert Professor Malcolm Fox, from the University of Leeds, said low levels of silicone could affect a car's performance. |
| "When it burns, it will form silicon dioxide and will deposit a very thin sheet on the sensor - the sensor is in the exhaust - and that probably gives a false signal to the engine computer." | "When it burns, it will form silicon dioxide and will deposit a very thin sheet on the sensor - the sensor is in the exhaust - and that probably gives a false signal to the engine computer." |