Following your report about the use, or rather abuse, by commercial vehicles and buses of light heating oil (LHO) as a fuel additive (The Sunday Times, August 17), it would be interesting to compare the Malta Transport Authority's published reports several months ago with some fresh results.

Perhaps this is why one particular bus was reported no fewer than 108 times in as little as 12 weeks, while little seemed to have been done about it. After all, all an owner has to do on being reported for billowing large clouds of smoke is to simply stop using LHO till the test, and afterwards start all over again, and there is little ADT can do about it.

A 19 per cent rise in any type of pollution in a modern country is totally unacceptable, and while the abuse of LHO may not be the only source, surely given the proximity to the public it is a significant one. The proximity and its use by commercial and public transport vehicles is the issue here.

While the ADT has been legally stymied, or has perhaps conveniently forgotten that vehicles producing large amounts of soot (a visual representation, not a quantifiable measure of air quality) is still an offence, the negative effect on the public as innocent third parties is a contravention of the health and safety at work legislation.

I am quite certain that if the ADT cannot carry out the spot testing for LHO, given the right incentive the Occupational Health and Safety Authority would have resources to carry out suitable and sufficient 'grab testing' of samples that would lead to prosecution and the stamping out of this unfair, damaging and injurious practice.