The silicon contamination of petrol which thousands of British motorists say damaged their vehicles has been traced to storage tanks at a Thames Estuary terminal, fuel supplier Harvest Energy said on Saturday, according to Reuters. Motorists across the country have said their vehicles broke down or suffered serious problems after leaving filling station forecourts. "Testing has identified unusually high levels of silicon in four petrol storage tanks," said Harvest Energy after conducting tests at an oil terminal owned by Vopak at West Thurrock, Essex, which it shares with another supplier, Greenergy. Harvest Energy said the contaminated fuel had not been spotted because testing of petrol at the terminal had not included a silicon check, though that test will now be introduced. "Harvest Energy has now isolated the higher silicon fuel and can guarantee that no further supplies of high silicon unleaded petrol will be distributed from the West Thurrock terminal," the company said in a statement. Vopak said in a statement late on Friday it had reviewed storage and handling operations at the terminal. "Vopak can now conclude that the product as received from one of our customers contains a relatively high level of silicon," it said. "This product has been located in four tanks, which are dedicated to one of our clients. These tanks have been isolated." It added: "In line with normal industry practice, Vopak as a storage company is not responsible for the quality of products delivered into our facilities." Trading standards officials discovered the silicon traces during tests on petrol after they began an inquiry following complaints from motorists. Several motorists have blamed petrol they bought from supermarkets Tesco, Morrisons and Wal-Mart's Asda. Consumer Direct, a government-funded advice service, said it had been contacted by more than 2,500 people concerned about possible fuel contamination. "We're sympathetic to the plight of motorists who have been affected by this problem," said Harvest Energy managing director Franco Bussandri. "We're working as closely as we can with our customers the retailers to address such concerns. We'd ask motorists who feel they may have been affected to contact their fuel retailer for advice."
