SIGHTINGS



MTBE Disinformation
Campaign Rolls On
By Jodi M. Waters <ianh@nanosecond.com>
www.oxybusters.com
10-7-99
 
 
 
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.
 
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."
 
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.
 
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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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
 
Cleaner Fuel, Cleaner Air, Lower Costs Cited as Reasons to Stop Effort to Ban
 
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
 
 
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.
 
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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





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