A release talking about MBTE, the additive Arcon would like to replace with DF-144:
Virginia Towns Find Additive MTBE in Water Supply; State to Investigate; Scientists Say Even One Gallon of MTBE Gasoline Can Create Unacceptable Contamination
PR Newswire - May 28, 1998 10:32
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WASHINGTON, May 28 /PRNewswire/ -- Two Virginia towns in Washington's outer suburbs have found MTBE, the controversial gasoline additive, in their water supply.
A third town found industrial solvents in its water, and together the discoveries have spurred an investigation by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality.
MTBE is methyl tertiary butyl ether, used as a gasoline additive by many oil companies to make reformulated gasoline, which lowers levels of noxious emissions from automobiles and trucks.
MTBE has been particularly controversial in California, where the additive so contaminated water supplies in Santa Monica that more than half of that city's water sources were cut off. State legislators have tried to ban MTBE; others have called for a change in California's regulations to allow use instead of ethanol, a clean-air gasoline additive known to be safe and used across the U.S., but not in California.
One oil company, Tosco, recently launched a test in Northern California, selling only gasoline with ethanol and ceasing sales of MTBE gasoline at test stations.
In Virginia, water samples taken recently from four wells in the town of Round Hill, in Loudoun County west of Washington, were found to contain MTBE.
In the nearby town of Hamilton, MTBE also was found to be contaminating water wells. Virginia officials have hired a contractor to investigate the contamination sources and trace ground water in the area. Tests found that some MTBE contamination in the towns exceeded 20 parts per billion.
The Washington Post, reporting on the contamination incidents, said:
"The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) has classified MTBE as a possible carcinogen that has been shown to cause cancer in laboratory animals but has not been regulated.
"While it studies MTBE's health effects, the EPA has set the allowable level at 20 to 40 parts per billion," the Post reported.
The newspaper also interviewed scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey, which has been studying MTBE in ground water. According to the Post, the scientists said that "a spill as small as a gallon of MTBE-enriched gasoline could create contamination above the accepted limit."
SOURCE Fuels for the Future
/CONTACT: Dean Reed of Fuels for the Future, 202-223-3532/
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