More than a quarter of samples of gasoline and about half the diesel samples at Moscow’s filling stations were substandard, according to a City Hall survey conducted last month.

Representatives of the police, tax authorities, the Moscow Fuel Association and various media took part in the broad City Hall initiative, organized by the Moscow Transport Inspectorate.

Virtually all commercial firms and organizations connected with fuel retailing were checked, as were about 30 percent of the city’s gas stations.

According to a report prepared by the transport inspectorate, 424 gasoline and 77 diesel samples were tested.

Of the gasoline samples, 115, or 27 percent, did not meet the standard requirements; while 35 diesel samples, or 45 percent, were found to be substandard. Octane level requirements were not met by 64 of the gasoline samples. High levels of sulfur was found in 36 samples, 12 contained lead tetraethyl and 12 contained benzene. Five contained iron additives, and one even contained napthalene. All poor-quality diesel had high sulfur levels.

Lead tetraethyl, benzene, iron additives and napthalene are all dangerous for the environment and engines.

Alexander Zavrazhin, head of the ecology department at the Transport Ministry, said all the additives were mixed with low-octane gasoline made from bootleg oil products into "high octane" gasoline.

High sulfur levels are due to poor technology at refineries.

Some of the contaminants were found at outlets run by small firms with no more than five gasoline stations, said Zavrazhin. However, adulterated fuel was also found at some major players’ stations.

The number of poor samples does not apply directly to the specific volume of poor-quality oil on the Moscow market, said Zavrazhin. The latest figure is 10 percent to 15 percent, he said.

Only the general director of Sretenka Petroleum, Edvard Andrianov, was prepared to discuss the quality of his firm’s gasoline.

He said he considered the tests to be unrepresentative: Only one sample was taken from only one of his eight filling stations. In the future, he believes the situation will improve, having recently changed his supplier.

Of the major filling station networks only three were absolutely "clean:" the Moscow Fuel Co., Splav — recently purchased by Tatneft, and Germes-Moskva.