A Gasoline Additive Lingers in New York's Drinking Water

Twelve years ago, when a new gasoline additive held the promise of reducing air pollution, New York State made a huge bet that the technology would work. It supported the use of the additive, M.T.B.E., to be mixed with gasoline at some of the highest concentrations in the nation, from 12 to 15 percent, while also allowing the additive to be used in parts of the state where air pollution was less of a problem.

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But six years later, when studies began to show that the chemical was a potential carcinogen, state officials realized that by trying to clean the air, they may have seriously damaged the water supply. M.T.B.E. had been leaching into the underground water table from thousands of gas tanks, and now the state has more than 13,000 spills that must be cleaned up, one of the worst cases of drinking-water pollution in the nation, experts say.



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Damm, we just got rid of it in California. The Ca Air Reouce Board (CARB) forced this in based on oil company propaganda (its really toxic waste) and then waffled when it showed up in the drinking water. Levels have finally dropped off.

Is this affecting the aquifiers as well? Didn't read article yet, I know ....

Great, allegedly cleaner air at the expense of polluted water. You'd think they would do more research before jumping the gun.
Like there wasn't enough bad stuff in the water supply already---like xenoestrogens and god-knows-what-else people pour down their sinks that isn't removed in water treatment plants.

[edit on 5-11-2004 by DontTreadOnMe]

We also have the problem of contaminated ground water in New Hampshire and have tried many ways to stop the use of the MTBE additive in gasoline.

New Hampshire has sued the oil companies.

New Hampshire Attorney General Peter Heed filed the lawsuit in state court against the petroleum industry Monday. Heed said MTBE allows gasoline to contaminate water supplies, because although gasoline is not soluble in water, the gasoline additive is.

www.thewmurchannel.com...

edited for quote marks

[edit on 11/6/2004 by Mahree]

MTBE is really what Fred said, toxic waste,

This is madness to use gasoline as a disposal method for such toxic waste...

Ten gallons of gasoline treated with MTBE could contaminate 62 million gallons of water -

Here is a great website about MTBE lawsuits and related stories.....

waterwebster.org...

Here is a link to the National MTBE settlement which 17 states have signed onto

baronandbudd.com...

The largest grouping of Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether (MTBE) cases in U.S. history have been partially settled for $422 million (see Press Release) (plus a 30-year commitment to future well treatment for qualifying wells) between plaintiffs in 17 states and the bulk of the nation’s leading gasoline providers. The case centered on the defendants’ manufacturing, marketing, distributing and storing of MTBE, a gasoline additive and groundwater contaminant that renders water non-potable and a potential health hazard. The settlement stems from a federal Multi-District Litigation (MDL) in New York established to hear MTBE cases nationwide. The MDL is comprised of cases that were originally filed in 17 different states.