c 1998 Oxybusters of Texas
Who is Promoting Oxygenates & WHY!!!!!!!!!
Who is Promoting Oxygenates and MTBE
Between Atlantic-Richfield Corporation (ARCO), the primary producer and
promoter of MTBE, and Archer-Daniels-Midland Corporation (ADM), the
primary producer of ETBE and Ethanol (made from corn), many political
strings have been pulled to open the door for Oxygenates to be mandated
in Reformulated Gasoline (RFG). The Oxygenated Fuels Association, the
political strong-arm, has the EPA, Congress, and some state and local
officials, with the exception of a few states that have or are in the
process of banning MTBE, convinced that Oxygenates are the answer to
automotive exhaust SMOG problems.
Oxybusters of Texas, from information provided through its sources,
contends that MTBE, is being used to fill the "Oxygenate Mandate" as
part of a "behind closed doors" agreement between the Oxygenated Fuels
Association, The White House Administration, (while George Bush was
still in office) and the EPA.
As long as the mandate is in force, The Oxygenated Fuels Association or
any of its members that manufacturer MTBE cannot be held liable or
accountable for any damage that MTBE might do to the environment or
related health problems that might arise from its use. A perfect escape
clause, "The government made us do it!"
The Oxygenated Fuels Association will go to great lengths to protect
this "escape clause" including financially supporting a last minute
electoral campaign in late October of 1996 to defeat an incumbent
congressman from Texas, (who introduced a piece of legislation to have
this one item removed making oxygenates voluntary instead of mandated),
for a candidate who would be more supportive of the Association and the
Oxygenated Fuels Program.
It must be pointed out that not all producers of MTBE are members of the
Oxygenated Fuels Association. In fact many oil industy and chemical
companies who are minor producers of MTBE are aware of the dangers in
using MTBE as an oxygenate at these high levels. They were content to
share their small piece of the pie when MTBE was just an additive used
as an octane booster and anti-knock additive at 1 to 2% levels. It also
allowed them a channel to dispose of their isobutylene refinery wastes.
It wasn't until the Oxygenated Fuels Association and ARCO began pushing
for MTBE to be used as an oxygenate that the widespread health problems
began.
Elected officials have responded to the public pressure. Alaska and
North Carolina, banned MTBE, and politicians throughout the country have
complained to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The corn farmers, along with processing giant Archer Daniels Midland,
continue to push ethanol as an alternative oxygenate to MTBE, using
their political clout this past summer in Congress to hold on to
ethanol's huge tax subsidy.
The Why
MTBE is produced from isobutylene, a waste product in the gasoline
refining process. So for refiners, the use of MTBE as a major fuel
component instantly eliminated a toxic-waste headache.
Auto, oil groups, and the Oxygenated Fuels Assn. have a vested interest
in the continued use of MTBE, whose production has become a profitable
$3 billion-a-year sideline for U.S. refiners although not all agree that
MTBE should be used at these high levels.
And the Oxygenated Fuels Association representing certain members in the
oil and chemical industry -- whose California lobbying bill last year
topped $1.8 million -- put the heat on state lawmakers earlier this year
to amend Senator Richard Mountjoy's proposed MTBE ban to make it a study
instead.
State Senator Richard Mountjoy, R-Arcadia, introduced a bill SB-521
earlier this spring which called for a ban on MTBE - on Friday, 9/12/97,
the state Senate passed Mountjoy's - sponsored bill which only requires
a 15- month study of MTBE's safety and enviromental effects.
And today, years after Congress acted, MTBE's carcinogenic potency is
still not well understood. Although state and federal environmental
officials downplay its cancer risks, a White House science task force
said in a report in June that more studies need to be done.
Why California mandated poison in your tank
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