FEINSTEIN CAMPAIGNS AGAINST GAS ADDITIVE.Byline: Associated Press Sen. Dianne Feinstein has asked Congress to drop California from a federal order requiring the use of gasoline additives such as 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, , saying the chemicals are unnecessary and pollute the state's 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. . Feinstein, D-Calif., noted in introducing three bills this week that some experts have named 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 possible carcinogen to humans. Environmentalists claim the odorless o·dor·less adj. Having no odor. o  dor·less·ly adv.o oxygenate oxygenate /ox·y·gen·ate/ (-je-nat) to saturate with oxygen. ox·y·gen·ate or ox·y·gen·ize v. To treat, combine, or infuse with oxygen. has contaminated thousands of the state's drinking water wells through leaky underground tanks. But representatives of the chemical industry have defended MTBE, saying it's essential to help gasoline burn more cleanly and has not been linked to cancer. Feinstein's proposed legislation would let California oil refiners make a gasoline without MTBE, as long as they meet the state's strict air-quality emission standards. ``It makes little sense to continue using a chemical additive that is unnecessary, is polluting the general drinking water supply in California and may well have other health implications,'' she said. A federal mandate now in place prevents refineries such as Chevron, Tosco and Shell from selling an oxygenate-free gasoline in high-smog areas, including Southern California and the Sacramento region, even though the gasoline meets state air quality standards. Similar legislation submitted last year failed to make it out of committee. Feinstein's bill is a companion to an identical bill introduced earlier this month in the House by Rep. Brian Bilbray, R-San Diego. This year, the bill has the support of U.S. Sen. John Chafee, R-R.I., chairman of the Senate Committee on the Environment and Public Works. Another bill introduced earlier this week would direct the federal Environmental Protection Agency Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), independent agency of the U.S. government, with headquarters in Washington, D.C. It was established in 1970 to reduce and control air and water pollution, noise pollution, and radiation and to ensure the safe handling and to make it a top priority to clean up storage tanks that are leaking fuel into water supplies. A third proposes moving up a deadline for strict EPA EPA eicosapentaenoic acid. EPA abbr. eicosapentaenoic acid EPA, n.pr See acid, eicosapentaenoic. EPA, n. emission controls on personal watercraft engines by five years to 2001 nationwide. |
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