Draft new EU legislation that would limit harmful vapour emissions from petrol pumps was proposed on 4 December by the European Commission. Petrol vapour contains benzene, which is known to cause cancer, and contributes to the formation of ground-level ozone, one of the air pollutants that is most damaging to human health and the environment and which also contributes to global climate change. Under the proposal, petrol pumps will have to be fitted with stage II petrol vapour recovery (PVR) technology, which can recover more than 85 per cent of the vapour. New or substantially refurbished petrol stations that sell more than 500 cubic metres of petrol a year would have to fit the technology as from 1 July 2012.