Why Keep a Fuel Addictive That Poses a Danger?

A major new study by the University of California demonstrates that the gasoline additive methyl tertiary butyl ether, or MTBE, poses a “significant risk” of contaminating our water supply and bolsters the case for phasing out its use.

The five-volume study concludes that MTBE provides “no significant air quality benefit” and yet, if its use is continued, “the potential for regional degradation of water resources, especially ground water, will increase.”

Simply put and bottom line, it is unacceptable for government policy to set regulations that are aimed at cleaning the air, but in so doing pollute the drinking water supply.

In light of this study, it is my hope that Congress will pass legislation I introduced last year in the Senate and that Rep. Brian P. Billbray (R-San Diego) introduced in the House.

Under our legislation, states like California, where fuel standards are stricter than the federal standards, could give gasoline manufacturers the flexibility to reduce or even eliminate the use of MTBE as long as the federal emission standards are met.

The UC report, commissioned by the California Legislature, also found that the cost of treating MTBE contamination of water in California could exceed $1 billion a year; that clean-burning gasoline formulas that do not include MTBE can be just as effective in cleaning the air; and that lower emissions may have nothing to do with the use of such oxygenates in reformulated gasoline, but may be the result of advances in technology, such as emission controls and combustion systems and in new gasoline formulations.

Already, according to a recent study by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, more than 10,000 shallow-water monitoring sites have been found to contain MTBE. That number will only increase if MTBE continues to seep into the ground water through leaky underground storage tanks and oil pipelines.

Local governments that have experienced MTBE contamination can provide testimony that it is extremely costly when the foul-smelling additive shows up in the water supply. For example:

* Santa Monica has lost the use of 50% of its ground water supply as a result of MTBE contamination, forcing the city to spend $3.5 million last year to purchase drinking water from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.

* South Lake Tahoe was forced to close seven wells due to MTBE contamination and spend more than $500,000 to find the source of the contamination and may have to ration water to meet its needs in the future.

* Santa Clara Valley Water District officials discovered MTBE in drinking water supplies, including a well that has now been shut down, as well as trace amounts in three water treatment plants.

MTBE leaks are extremely difficult to clean up. It mixes easily with water and spreads rapidly, making the possibility of widespread contamination a serious threat. The effect of MTBE on humans has not been thoroughly researched, but the uncertainty of the potential health effects of the additive adds weight to the argument against its use. MTBE has been shown to cause cancer in laboratory animals, and researchers suspect that it is also a human carcinogen.

Two of California’s biggest oil refiners, Tosco, which retails the Union 76 brand, and Chevron, have expressed serious concern about the danger MTBE poses to the water supply and are making major changes. Tosco last year began substituting ethanol for MTBE in the San Francisco Bay Area. Chevron clearly stated that oxygenates are not needed to achieve cleaner-burning fuel and has started testing formulas that produce less emissions with no oxygenates at all.

Because California’s air is cleaner today, some officials are hesitant to consider eliminating MTBE because it appears to have been responsible. But according to the UC study, this is untrue.

It makes little sense to continue using a chemical additive that is unnecessary, is polluting the general drinking water supply in California and may well have other health implications. The time is right to phase out the use of MTBE and safeguard our drinking water.