Inspectors with the Virgin Islands Weights and Measures Unit at the Virgin Islands Department of Licensing and Consumer (DLCA) now have portable analyzers that will allow them to perform field tests of the octane rating of gasoline being sold across the territory.
The department has taken delivery of two Zeltex octane analyzers, portable devices about of the size of a business briefcase, that give the inspectors the capability of testing the octane rating in any fuel pump in the territory and comparing the results with the label on the pump.
Inspectors have been told to make the octane tests a priority within the scope of other inspection responsibilities.
“Until now, the Virgin Islands [has] lacked the ability to independently test octane levels, and we have relied on private laboratories or other jurisdictions,’’ said Wayne Biggs, commissioner of DLCA. “The Zeltex octane analyzers will allow our inspectors to do on-the-site checks to determine if the octane level of the fuel being sold matches the label on the pump.’’
The devices have been calibrated and the inspectors are being trained in their use. They will be in the field with the analyzers as quickly as training is completed, which should be within the next few weeks. One of the machines will be used in the District of St. Croix, the other in the St. Thomas-St. John District.
“We have had the capability to test the water content in gasoline as well as to make sure the pumps are delivering the correct amount of fuel and charging the correct price,’’ Biggs said. “Field testing for octane is a huge step forward as we strive to assure that consumers get what they pay for and know what they are buying.’’
The portable octane analyzers will operate somewhat like a portable breath tester used in the field for sobriety checks of drivers. Results of the field octane test will give inspectors information they need to make more detailed analysis of a specific sample by sending that sample to a laboratory for confirmation of the octane rating using specially designed knock-test engines.
Any instances of mislabeling of fuel will be a violation and are subject to fines up to $5,000 per violation.
The decision to equip inspectors with portable octane analyzers came after a review by the commissioner, supported by an official opinion by his legal staff, concluded that it is illegal to sell fuel in the V.I. at octane levels below those posted on the pumps. Historically this issue has not been of grave concern to the department. Previous random tests by independent laboratories on retail samples provided by DLCA had shown that, as the primary supplier of fuel to the territory, Hovensa’s products routinely exceeded the labeled octane values. However, the V.I.’s current market includes multiple suppliers and is subject to change without notice. This situation warrants closer scrutiny by DLCA as the agency responsible for assisting, educating and protecting consumers against potentially unfair and deceptive trade practices.