Proponents and opponents of using methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) in reformulated gasoline have squared off again on the issue, this time in Washington.
The Oil, Chemical, and Atomic Workers Union held a press conference to highlight the MTBE studies of Cesare Maltoni, a Bologna, Italy, cancer researcher.
Maltoni said MTBE causes significant increases in lymphomas and leukemia in rats, although it may be no more dangerous than other carcinogenic compounds in regular gasoline. His study exposed 1,900 rats to far higher levels of MTBE than humans experience while refueling or driving automobiles.
Myron Mehlman of Robert Wood Johnson Medical School said his survey found that addition of MTBE to gasoline has resulted in many health complaints by refinery workers and consumers. His study was based on surveys of people who complained to a telephone hotline.
The Oxygenated Fuels Association (OFA) promptly called a press conference to rebut Maltoni and Mehlman.
Robert Tardiff of the EA Engineering, Science, & Technology Inc. consulting firm said Maltoni exposed rats to MTBE doses more than a million times greater than humans experience. He called Maltoni's study "inappropriate, limited, and really not relevant."
Richard Masica, OFA vice-chairman, said MTBE has been carefully studied and has been used in gasoline since 1979. He noted it has been used in Denver since 1988 with no health problems.
Nancy Balter of Georgetown University said Mehlman's study was not scientific and proves nothing about the effects of MTBE exposure on the general population. She said "pockets" of health complaints have tended to appear following stories in the press about reformulated gasoline.
Balter said studies by the Environmental Protection Agency, the Centers for Disease Control, and universities have failed to find a link between MTBE and health problems.
Meantime, EPA released a statement saying MTBE is less of a threat than the chemicals in gasoline, such as benzene, it is replacing.
It said, "EPA feels that oxygenated fuels, regardless of whether the oxygenate is MTBE or other products, are greatly helping to clean the air and protect public health."
The most recent flurry of pros and cons continued a running verbal battle over the perceived merits and demerits of MTBE (OGJ, Feb. 13, P. 17).
WISCONSIN'S PROBLEMS
Separately, the American Petroleum Institute went on the offensive for reformulated gasoline in the Milwaukee area, where there have been so many complaints about the fuel that the state attempted to quit the program.
API set up a telephone hotline Mar. 1 and has received more than 1,300 calls. More than 800 calls involved questions about engine performance with the fuel.
API asked the independent Lundberg Letter to survey Milwaukee fleet operators, and Lundberg reported a possible decline of only 1 mpg with the new fuel. EPA and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources have begun a more scientific study of RFG mileage.
API received 148 calls about use of the gasoline in small engines. It said the Portable Power Equipment Manufacturers Association has reported RFG causes no general problems.
API also received 300 calls asking about headaches, dizziness, or nausea believed to be caused by RFG.
The association said, "We are frankly puzzled by reports of health problems because we aren't seeing these complaints in many other cities where RFG is now being sold."
API said EPA and Wisconsin are conducting random surveys and following up on specific complaints called to hotlines.
Finally, API said some consumers had complained RFG costs as much as 15-17/gal more than the fuel it replaced.
An independent survey by Computer Petroleum Corp. showed during the week ending Mar. 4 the average Milwaukee consumer paid 4.4/gal more than other drivers in the state. EPA had predicted the fuel would cost 3-5/gal more to manufacture.
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