January 2002 Greenspace Insider, Cambria Land Trust

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The Greenspace InsiderVolume 2, Number 1 January, 2

What is MtBE and why is it in gasoline?MtBE (methyl tertiary-butyl ether) is a volatile or-

ganic compound. MtBE is a component of reformulated oroxygenated gasoline. It is used as an octane booster and

was thought to reduce highly toxic pollutants like carbonmonoxide and ozone in ambient air. Conventional gaso-

line has MtBE amounts in various levels. Typically it isaround 3% by volume and in some areas, like California, itcan be as high as 11%. The percentages of MtBE in gaso-

line are related to the National Air Quality Standards and

the s tandards of a i r qual i ty in Cal i forn ia.

How does MtBE get into drinking water?Contamination of ground water with MtBE is most

likely a result of leaky underground storage tanks. In some

cases it is a result of gasoline spills. Spills can occur asyou refuel your vehicle, boat, or other device requiring

fuel. Spills can occur from leaks in automobile fuel sys-tems or occur from improperly disposing of old gasoline.

Spills, no matter what their size, can have serious impactsdepending on the vulnerability of nearby wells. Becauseof its solubility in water and resistance to decomposition,

MtBE moves rapidly in groundwater, indeed faster thando other gasoline components such as the chemicals ben-

zene, methy lbenzene, to luene and xy lene .

Is MtBE in drinking

water harmful?It is

Greenspace’s position

that MtBE in drinking wa-ter is potentially harmful to

your health. The National

Academy of Sciences has

stated, “…substantial evi-

dence exists that gasoline

containing MtBE is detri-

mental to the health of humans.” Furthermore, the report says,“MtBE in gasoline causes respiratory illnesses (e.g., shortness of breath,asthma, bronchitis, and a variety of breathing problems) and allergic

illnesses (e.g., sinus problems and nasal and upper respiratory irrita-tion). Reported neurological illnesses include headache, anxiety, in-

ability to concentrate, lightheadedness, insomnia, and depression. Testresults in experimental animals showed that MtBE is a probable hu-

man carcinogen and causes cancers such as leukemia and lymphoma,as well as malignancies of the kidney, testes and liver.” The question

is, of course, how much MtBE does it take to cause these or other

ailments to occur? As in most issues that have a huge health and

economic impact on society the jury is still out. Some say they have

the answer while others say the evidence is not adequate to state oneway or another.

Should Chevron Corporation be allowed to dicharge treated water into Santa Rosa Creek?

The answer is yes if the water is clean and nowater has detectable amounts of components of gasoli

the ones discabove. There a

ply too many cing health studie

so called amounts of gaby-products in d

water to categotell people that t

ter is at “drinkinter standards”.

stance, the Enmental Prote

Agency has implemented standards of drinking water tha

more parts per billion of gasoline additives than Califthreshold. Instruments that are able to detect even s

amounts of water pollutants now exist in California Certifiedratories that monitor clean drinking water. These s

amounts need to be the new standard for drinking

What will Greenspace tell the Regional Water QualityControl Board regarding Chevron’s application to discharge treated groundwater into Santa Rosa Creek?

It is the Greenspace position that polluters should be the standards of the existing technology to detect pollution. Iwords, the State of California says it is safe to discharge 5.0 pa

billion of MtBE in Santa Rosa Creek and we say that water aequipment, available today in California Certified Laboratorie

detect much lower levels of MtBE and other components of gaIf MtBE cannot be

detected by thisequipment, then thisis the standard we

must achieve. Any-thing less is not ac-

ceptable. Chevron

must keep theirword that they willclean up the mess.

We want any water

discharged intoSanta Rosa Creek

to have non-detect-able levels of pollut-

ants. The “clean drinking water” standards of the California R

Water Quality Control Board need to reflect the technology cuavailable. Furthermore, independent water sampling and moneeds to be implemented if Chevron is allowed to discharge icreek. Greenspace will ask to be that independent m

SOME QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS REGARDING MtBE

Jet Skier recreating on drinking water

Common culprits for potential MtBE contaminatio

One source of potential contamination



Local Land Conservation Since 1988

Post Office Box 1505Cambria, California 93428(805) 927-2866 - Phone

(805) 927-7530 - Faxe-mail: [email protected]

M t B E p r o g r e s s e s t h r o u g h C a m b r i a ’ s E a s t V i l l a g e .

U.S. Bulk PAID

Permit NoCambria,

93428Non-Pro

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9 / 2 0 0 1 L i n e o f C o n t a i n m e n t

p C o u r t e s y o f C h e v r o n C o r p o r a t i o n

T h e d r a f t c h a r t w a s p r o v i d e d b y C h e v r o n . T h e p l u m e s i z e s a r e

b a s e d o n d a t a t a k e n f r o m m o n i t o r i n g w e l l s a n d a n a l y z e d b y C h e v r o n . T h e g o o d n e w s i s t h a t c o n c e n t r a t i o n s , a s

i n p a r t s p e r b i l l i o n , o f T B A , b e n z e n e , a n d M t B E s e e m t o b e d r o p p i n g . T h e

p l u m e s i z e o f M t B E i s i n c r e a s i n g w h i l e t h e p l u m e s i z e f o r T B A a n d

b e n z e n e a r e s h r i n k i n g . C h e v r o n p r o p o s e d l o c a t i o n t o d i s c h a r g e w a t e r i n t o S a n t a R o s a C r e e k i s m a r k e d

w i t h a r e d a r r o w . I f a l l o w e d t o d i s c h a r g e t h e n G r e e n s p a c e p r o -

p o s e s t o c o n d u c t i n d e p e n d e n t w a t e r s a m p l i n g a t t h e e n d o f t h i s

d i s c h a r g e p i p e .



January 2002 Greenspace Insider, Cambria Land Trust

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January 2002 Greenspace Insider, Cambria Land Trust