-
- The MTBE dis-information machine rolls on! Attached are
a couple of copyrighted news items which we are forwarding to you in the
public interest.
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- Former Senator Jake Garn is, you will see, an avid supporter
of MTBE as a means of cleaning up our nation's air...primarily because
he now serves on the board of one of the country's biggest producers of
this poisonous additive.
-
- Mr. Garn says "Banning MTBE is certainly no substitute
for proper enforcement of state and federal rules which ensure the integrity
of underground gasoline storage tanks."
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- In the next item, Bill Greehey, a CEO who also has a
vested interest in MTBE, applauds Mr. Garn and says "The question
everyone should be asking is, why should consumers pay the price for leaking
underground storage tanks and pipelines by being forced to breathe dirtier
air and paying higher prices for gasoline? It's time to focus on the real
issue and demand that the leaky tanks be cleaned up. Consumers don't want
to drink gasoline - with or without MTBE."
-
- What's missing from these comments is any reference to
data which show that MTBE actually causes leaks in underground storage
tanks (USTs) because it eats through elastomer seals, making even new or
recently-inspected tanks unsafe far more rapidly than "pure"
gasoline ever did. It's a problem in hand-carried gas cans too, prompting
California's air resources board (ARB) to mandate new manufacturing standards
which are expected to triple the cost of those versatile portable containers
used by millions of us. The brave among you can put this to the test by
dropping elastomer items (old rubber gloves, bits of hose, ring seals,
or anything else you want to get rid of) into a container full of MTBE-polluted
gasoline. You'll see them disintegrate in a matter of days, just like the
seals in USTs...and auto engines.
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- Let's be clear about one thing: there's big money in
MTBE, and that's why politicians with expensive re-election campaigns to
finance and buddies in the oil industry willing to contribute to their
cause are reluctant to tackle the issue responsibly. MTBE benefits no one
except the companies that produce it and the oil giants that peddle it.
It's widely known that the contribution it makes to "cleaning up our
air" are negligible, and far outweighed by the estimated $40 billion
it's going to cost to clean up the mess MTBE has made all over the country.
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- ______________
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- California OXYBUSTERS appeals to you for help in getting
MTBE out of our state's gasoline and out of our drinking water and air
NOW -- not according to a schedule set by the oil industry and MTBE manufacturers
to maximize their profits.
-
- For more information, please contact California OxyBusters
President Jodi M. Waters at (209) 334-6538 or call media contact Ian Harmer
at (775) 782-3471
-
-
-
- For Immediate Release
-
- October 5, 1999 Contact: Eric Bolton (703) 841-7100 Trevor
Francis (202) 661-6322
-
-
- Former Senator Garn Tells Senate Panel to Save Fuel Additive
MTBE
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- Cleaner Fuel, Cleaner Air, Lower Costs Cited as Reasons
to Stop Effort to Ban
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- ARLINGTON, Va. - Former Senator Jake Garn (R-UT) today
told the Clean Air, Wetlands, Private Property, and Nuclear Safety Subcommittee
of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee that the push to ban
or phase-down MTBE will undermine our nation,s clean air progress and do
nothing to improve clean water standards.
-
- "MTBE has an unparalleled record of cleaning up
the air that we all breathe. Banning MTBE will reverse its successful record
of cleaning our air"a success which has been accelerating since passage
of the 1990 Amendments to the Clean Air Act," Garn testified. He also
noted, "Banning MTBE is certainly no substitute for proper enforcement
of state and federal rules which ensure the integrity of underground gasoline
storage tanks."
-
- MTBE has been the fuel oxygenate of choice for most refiners
because it effectively reduces air pollutants like toxic lead and cancer
causing benzene from car emissions. In addition, MTBE has helped keep the
cost of cleaner burning gasoline down. Various studies have concluded that
banning or restricting MTBE will lead to higher pump prices and gasoline
shortages.
-
- The focus of much of today,s hearing was leaking underground
storage tanks. Trace amounts of MTBE in some sources of drinking water
have caused calls for the banning of MTBE in fuel. Mr. Garn testified today
that it,s the tanks and not MTBE that needs to be the focus of attention
in this debate.
-
- In his testimony today, Senator Garn was representing
Huntsman Corporation, where he serves as Vice Chairman of the Board of
Directors. Huntsman is the largest, privately owned chemical company in
the U.S. and a major supplier of MTBE for America,s clean fuels program.
Huntsman Corporation is a member of the Oxygenated Fuels Association (OFA).
-
- Speaking on behalf of OFA, Executive Director Terry Wigglesworth
said she was confident that the Clean Air, Wetlands, Private Property,
and Nuclear Safety Subcommittee of the Senate Environment and Public Works
"will consider all of the evidence provided today, and will come to
an appropriate conclusion based on science and fact."
-
-
- <http://www.northernlight.com/news.html
-
- Valero Supports Senate Testimony Supporting MTBE; Contributions
To Cleaner Air, Affordable Gasoline Cited 10-5-99
-
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- SAN ANTONIO (BUSINESS WIRE) - Officials of Valero Energy
Corporation (NYSE:VLO) announced strong support for this morning's testimony
by former Senator Jake Garn (R-UT) before the Clean Air, Wetlands, Private
Property, and Nuclear Safety Subcommittee of the Senate Environment and
Public Works Committee.
-
- Valero's chairman and CEO, Bill Greehey said that Garn
was "absolutely on the money" in his assessment that a ban or
phase-out of MTBE would not only be harmful to our nation's air quality
but to the pocketbooks of all Americans.
-
- "There is absolutely no doubt that a ban on MTBE
would lead to unprecedented supply interruptions and price spikes at the
pump," said Greehey. "The question everyone should be asking
is, why should consumers pay the price for leaking underground storage
tanks and pipelines by being forced to breathe dirtier air and paying
higher prices for gasoline? It's time to focus on the real issue and demand
that the leaky tanks be cleaned up. Consumers don't want to drink gasoline
- with or without MTBE."
-
- Over the last two decades, MTBE has effectively reduced
air pollutants like toxic lead and cancer-causing benzene from car emissions.
In addition, MTBE has helped keep the cost of gasoline down. Various studies
have concluded that banning or restricting MTBE will lead to higher costs
and gasoline shortages.
-
- "Clean air, clean water, and clean-burning fuels
are things we should all demand," said Greehey. "We need to
make sure that underground storage tanks and pipelines are compliant with
federal and state regulations to guard against the contamination of our
water. Valero supports the enforcement of existing laws, not the banning
of proven substances like MTBE, as the way to maintain the nation's forward
momentum with regard to clean air and clean water."
-
- Copyright (C) 1999 Business Wire. All rights reserved.
-
- CONTACT: Valero Energy Corporation Mary Rose Brown,
210/370-2314 or Policy Impact Communications Trevor Francis, 202/661-6322
WEB PAGE: http://www.businesswire.com
-
- Copyright © 1999, Business Wire, all rights reserved.
-
- __________________
-
-
- For more information, please contact California OxyBusters
President Jodi M. Waters at (209) 334-6538 or call media contact Ian Harmer
at (775) 782-3471
|
