Water supplies at risk from gasoline additive

First in a three-part series.

By JONDI GUMZ
SENTINEL STAFF WRITER

The chemical is called MTBE. It’s in the gasoline that powers our cars. It’s added to reduce air pollution.

But MTBE appears to have made a bigger impact underground. As gasoline leaks from storage tanks, properties from Boulder Creek to Watsonville have been contaminated with MTBE.

Since the additive became widely used four years ago, regulators have identified 10,000 contaminated sites statewide; 58 are in Santa Cruz County.

The chemical has not been found in public wells in the county. But it has contaminated a private well serving Mañana Woods, a small neighborhood outside Scotts Valley. Homeowners there sued four oil companies to force them to clean their drinking water.

The most troubling cleanup site locally is a Quik Stop gas station in Soquel. It’s within a half-mile of three wells owned by the Soquel Creek Water District, a dozen private wells, and Nobel Creek.

MTBE also has been found near other public wells, including:

• Beacon, 1597 Freedom Blvd., 150 feet from a city of Watsonville well.

• Three gas stations on Mount Hermon Road, a half-mile from a Scotts Valley Water District well.

• Ed’s Automotive, 3801 Portola Drive, a quarter-mile from three city of Santa Cruz wells.

"It’s like being an alcoholic," said Dennis Cocking of the South Lake Tahoe Utility District, where extensive MTBE pollution has been found. "You’re in denial. You have to accept the fact that you have a problem."

Even worse, some health officials say, the chemical could be a health hazard.

Why MTBE is in gas
California gasoline contains MTBE so the state meets federal Clean Air Act regulations.

Oil companies had a choice of adding MTBE or ethanol to gasoline to reduce emissions produced by cars and trucks. Both help gas burn cleaner.

The oil industry favored MTBE, a refinery byproduct less expensive and more readily available than ethanol, most of which is manufactured in the Midwest and must be trucked here or delivered by rail.

Carl Walker, a retired IBM safety engineer, was on the Santa Cruz County Hazardous Materials Advisory Commission when MTBE was proposed.

"We got glossy fliers from the manufacturers saying it was extensively tested," he recalled.

At the time, experts believed adding another chemical to gasoline wouldn’t be a problem.

"We were containing benzene (a known carcinogen), and we thought we had monitoring at gas stations," Walker said. "The discussion of (MTBE getting into drinking) water never happened. Who would have guessed?"

The difference between the two chemicals is that benzene tends to stay in one place, while MTBE travels — mixing easily with water.

"It moves like lightning," said Cocking of the Tahoe district, which has lost 12 of its 34 wells to MTBE contamination.

"This stuff is really insidious," added Mike DiMarco of the Santa Clara Valley Water District, which has 400 contaminated sites. "It doesn’t glom onto soil particles. It moves with the water, and it needs special attention."

A health issue
Scientists are debating how much of a health risk MTBE poses.

Two years ago, a federal panel considered listing MTBE as a cause of cancer in humans. The listing was defeated by a 6-5 vote of the National Toxicology Program’s Board of Scientific Counselors.

Myron Mehlman, a New Jersey scientist who is a past president of the American College of Toxicology and former Mobil Oil Co. employee, blames the no vote on gasoline profits.

MTBE is cheap to produce, he argues, so the more MTBE that goes into gasoline, the more money oil companies make. MTBE comprises about 11 percent of a gallon of gasoline.

He cited studies that show MTBE causes leukemia, lymphoma and liver cancer in mice and rats. Other studies show humans exposed to MTBE experience respiratory illness, allergic reactions and headaches.

Oil industry representatives call the studies flawed, but Mehlman isn’t the only researcher raising a red flag.

Peter Joseph, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, theorizes increased use of MTBE may be behind the recent increase in asthma.

And Dr. Nachman Brautbar of the University of Southern California School of Medicine has found MTBE exposure is associated with cell damage, as well as headaches, skin rashes, memory loss and difficulty concentrating.

In Mañana Woods, where oil companies are paying for an expensive filtering system to ensure drinking water containing MTBE meets state standards, homeowner Ron Hill isn’t taking chances.

In addition to the neighborhood filter, Hill installed a home filtration system with a $200 filter that must be changed every year. He also drinks bottled water.

"Who knows what else they will put in there?" he asked.

A political fight
Two years ago, a panel convened by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recommended MTBE use be curtailed, if not phased out, and cleanup efforts stepped up.

Last year, EPA staff proposed new rules on MTBE and asked for public comment, but little has happened since.

During the Clinton administration, California asked the EPA to waive the federal Clean Air Act requirement, which would reduce the amount of MTBE in gasoline sold in the state. No decision has been reached.

Proposed federal legislation has been caught in a stalemate between the oil industry, which produces MTBE, and manufacturers of ethanol, a possible substitute.

Because of the lack of congressional action, seven states plan to ban MTBE in gasoline by 2005. Four others are curtailing its use.

In March 1999, California Gov. Gray Davis ordered a ban to take effect by Dec. 31, 2002, but it’s being challenged on two fronts.

The Oxygenated Fuels Association, a Virginia-based trade group, has sued, claiming the proposed ban is at odds with federal law.

Methanex, the world’s largest manufacturer of a key ingredient of MTBE, is seeking $970 million in damages. The Canadian company claims the ban would unfairly protect the American ethanol industry in violation of the North American Free Trade Agreement.

"This is a high-stakes game of chicken," said Nick Economides, a consultant with the Oxygenated Fuels Association, who predicts the outcome will be wrapped up in California’s gubernatorial election of 2002.

A scapegoat?
Despite the controversy, the oil industry backs MTBE, saying the problem is leaky tanks and poor enforcement of tank replacement regulations.

Lyondell Chemical Co., a Houston-based spinoff of Atlantic Richfield Co., objected to the EPA’s recommendations two years ago, but declined to comment for this story.

But Dave Liddle of the Oxygenated Fuels Association defended MTBE vociferously, calling it a smog fighter.

"Why pick on MTBE?" he asked. "It works as advertised. It’s exceeded expectations. I think there should be a national outcry to fix tanks."

Federal and state regulations required underground gas tanks be upgraded by the end of 1998. During the past four years, more than 5 million tanks have been removed and more than $24 billion spent nationwide to clean up contamination, according to a national association of hazardous waste managers.

In Santa Cruz County, 132 tanks were removed.

At the Franich Chrysler Dodge dealership in Watsonville, cleaning up after an old tank cost owner Bob Culbertson $80,000. Some 30 truckloads of contaminated soil — 611 tons — were hauled away.

Two years later, testing at the site continues. If Culbertson installs a new tank, he said it will be above ground.

"I never want to have to go through this again," he said.

Culbertson’s decision appears to be a wise one, in light of a study last year by the Santa Clara Valley Water District.

The district investigated 16 sites with new double-walled or upgraded underground tanks and found 13 had undetected MTBE leaks. Among the problems were pipes, fittings, elbow joints and seals.

"A leakproof tank is a pipe dream," said Jay Cano, who monitors tank cleanups for the Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Agency.

Steve Schneider of the county Environmental Health Department said he doesn’t know why MTBE has escaped in so many locations.

The county’s tank regulations require extra protection measures only recently mandated by the state.

"It’s not easy to evaluate something underground," he said.

A possible cause is human error.

Gas station attendants get little training to deal with gasoline. They can overfill a tank and hose down the spill, sending MTBE underground. Or they may turn off an alarm that detects leaks. It doesn’t take much to create a problem. MTBE is so strong even a tiny amount — 5 parts per billion — is noticeable to people who are sensitive to it.

"An eyedropper full in a swimming pool, and you can taste or smell it," said Mike DiMarco of the Santa Clara Valley Water District.

Whodunnit?
Federal officials are struggling to assess the extent of the MTBE problem.

"A significant but currently unknown number of community water wells may be at risk of contamination," John Zogorski of the U.S. Geological Survey said in a report a year ago. "And the risk of contamination, if MTBE were to be removed today, from gasoline will continue for at least the next decade."

And while contaminating drinking water is a crime, pinpointing who is responsible is difficult. Often contaminated areas are near several gas stations.

Investigators have not decided which of several gas stations is responsible for MTBE contamination in the Mañana Woods well. Morgan Taylor, county assistant district attorney, said he can’t bring a case until he knows who is responsible.

"MTBE travels in very mysterious ways," he said.

Contact Jondi Gumz at jgumz@santa-cruz.com.

Invisible Threat: a Sentinel Special Report

by Jondi Gumz
SENTINEL STAFF REPORTER

Part One: April 1, 2001
Water supplies at risk from gasoline additive
MTBE fouls Watsonville High athletic field

Part Two: April 2, 2001
Lessons learned from MTBE
Complex, interagency system sometimes neglects to notify public on water issues

Part Three: April 3, 2001
Possible MTBE ban on county’s agenda
Board may hire consultant to review cleanup at Soquel Drive gas station