MI: MTBE (Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether) California Fact Sheet

MTBE (Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether) California Fact Sheet

Description:	An oxygenate derived from natural gas.
Uses:	Oxygenates, including MTBE, are used in fuels to reduce vehicle exhaust emissions while maintaining high performance.
Gas Composition:	Cleaner-burning gasoline consists of 11% MTBE (by volume).
Gas Consumption:	Californians use 35 to 37 million gallons of gas per day, or about 13 billion gallons per year.
Clean Air Benefits:	California's cleaner-burning gasoline is the cleanest gasoline in the world. Cancer risk related to gasoline exposure is reduced by 40%. Smog-forming emissions are reduced by 300 tons per day, or 15%.
Health risks:	Gasoline is a complex mixture of hundreds of chemical compounds, many of which have been shown to cause cancer. More than 70 studies over two decades show that MTBE is safe for use in gasoline. No evidence exists to suggest that MTBE causes cancer in humans. In animals, MTBE causes cancer only at very high doses administered daily throughout the animal's lifetime. There is no data linking MTBE to acute health effects.
History:	*1940s:* MTBE first designed as a fuel. *1970s:* Manufactured and used commercially in Europe. *1979:* Used in the United States as a replacement for lead to enhance octane. *1989:* Introduced in Southern California as the first cleaner-burning gasoline. *1990:* Clean Air Act Amendments require the use of oxygenates to lower automotive air pollution in nine major metropolitan areas with the worst air quality, including five cities in California. *Nov. 1992:* Gasoline oxygenated with 15% MTBE by volume used to satisfy federal winter-month requirement to reduce carbon monoxide in San Diego, L.A. Basin, Sacramento and Bay Area. *Jan. 1995:* Federal reformulated gasoline program implemented. *Spring 1996:* California's year-round cleaner-burning gasoline program began statewide.
Market share:	MTBE is used in 90% of gasoline sold in the state, over 30% of gasoline sold nationwide.
Cost to Consumers:	A 3 to 5 cents per gallon increase in gasoline prices can be attributed to the cleaner-burning gasoline program in California, or $20 per car each year.
Industry Investment:	Costs to retool refineries to produce cleaner-burning gasoline in California has exceeded $3 billion.