BILL TO FUND POLLUTANT RESEARCH AWAITS WILSON.Byline: Teresa Jimenez Daily News Staff Writer A bill awaiting Gov. Pete Wilson's signature would provide $10 million toward research and cleanup of methyl tertiary butyl butyl /bu·tyl/ (bu´t'l) a hydrocarbon radical, C4H9. bu·tyl n. A hydrocarbon radical, C4H9. butyl a hydrocarbon radical, C4H9. ether, a gasoline additive Gasoline additives increase gasoline's octane rating or act as corrosion inhibitors or lubricators, thus allowing the use of higher compression ratios for greater efficiency and power, however some carry heavy environmental risks. that has been found in recreational reservoirs statewide, including Castaic and Pyramid lakes. The bill passed the Assembly and Senate easily and was presented Monday to the governor, who is expected to sign it into law. The additive, a known carcinogen carcinogen: see cancer. carcinogen Agent that can cause cancer. Exposure to one or more carcinogens, including certain chemicals, radiation, and certain viruses, can initiate cancer under conditions not completely understood. in rodents, is expelled by some powerboats and personal watercraft, leading to efforts in the state capital to ban such craft from reservoirs in which drinking water drinking water supply of water available to animals for drinking supplied via nipples, in troughs, dams, ponds and larger natural water sources; an insufficient supply leads to dehydration; it can be the source of infection, e.g. leptospirosis, salmonellosis, or of poisoning, e.g. is stored. MTBE MTBE Methyl-tert-butyl-ether Surgery An aliphatic ether that rapidly dissolves cholesterol stones in vivo, introduced under local anesthesia via a percutaneous transhepatic cholecystectomy catheter, as a non-invasive method for treating gallstones; after injection, , a colorless, flammable liquid added to fuel to make it burn more cleanly, has been found to cause cancer in rats. Though no connection has been made between MTBE and human health, officials are concerned about water contamination. In addition, MTBE has contaminated contaminated, v 1. made radioactive by the addition of small quantities of radioactive material. 2. made contaminated by adding infective or radiographic materials. 3. an infective surface or object. groundwater at more than 10,000 sites around the state, according to an aide to state Assemblyman George Runner, R-Lancaster, who helped write the bill. The carcinogen spreads quickly and is expensive to remove from water. ``Research may help us find a solution. There's really no alternative,'' said Brian Craig, a legislative aide for Runner. ``Clean air or clean water? What is more important?'' To fund the bill, $5 million would be taken from the state general fund, and $5 million would be taken from gas tax money, Craig said. Up to $1 million would be used for research. The remaining $9 million would be used for cleaning MTBE from water, investigating the sources of contamination and finding alternative drinking-water supplies. Much of the MTBE contamination comes from two-cycle engines, or outboard motors with more than 10 horsepower that discharge 25 percent of their fuel as exhaust into recreational reservoirs. |
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