MTBE poses a carcinogenic risk comparable to smoking cigarettes. But when humans are exposed to MTBE and other gasoline toxins simultaneously at the gas pump and from contaminated drinking water the carcinogenic effect may increase exponentially, he said, adding that, under these conditions, the additive is carcinogenic at much lower levels. While citizens continue to be exposed, administrators equivocate. Meanwhile, only 12 of the 45 states that permit boating on reservoirs test for MTBE in their surface waters. We re waiting for the Source Water Protection Regulations from the EPA, said Glen Sauns from New Mexico s Surface Water Bureau.
Consumers can t wait that long.
Not a shred of scientific evidence indicates MTBE positively effects the environment, Mehlman marvels. Why it was used in the first place totally escapes me.