PGHIMC - Pittsburgh Independent Media Center

Good News - MTBE loses liability shield
by rustbelt radio Tuesday, Aug. 02, 2005 at 4:15 PM
radio@indypgh.org (email address validated)

The U.S. Senate finally defeated liability protections for MTBE polluters in the omnibus energy bill Sunday.

The U.S. Senate finally defeated liability protections for MTBE polluters in the omnibus energy bill Sunday, to the relief of drinking water utilities and communities around the country with MTBE contamination. MTBE or METHYL tertiary-butyl ether is a gasoline additive that was believed to be relativley harmless when first introduced to oxygenate fuel and reduce tail-pipe emissions of cancer agents such as benzene compounds. MTBE has since been banned in many states because it increases formaldehyde emissions and has been linked with cancer in animal studies, but the chemical’s impact on the taste and smell of contaminated drinking water has proven lasting and difficult to remediate. Now the EPA has identified MTBE as a likey human carcinogen.