The court also ruled that the EPA's new rules requiring pre-market safety testing of gas additives did not apply in this case, because the application for MMT was filed before the rules took effect. Because MMT cannot be banned by the EPA at this time, the coalition of anti-MMT groups in the United States is asking for a voluntary ban by refiners. They also pointed out that several major automobile manufacturers are opposed to use of the additive, which the companies say may cause or contribute to the failure of some emissions control systems. Herbert Needleman, the leading researcher behind the successful movement to remove lead from gasoline, and colleague Philip Landrigan of Mt. Sinai School of Medicine, are particularly concerned about the potential effects of elevated manganese levels on children. As a result, children are more vulnerable to most neurotoxins.
Children live and play close to the ground, where automobile exhausts settle.
These effects may announce themselves years later as difficulties in learning, language expression, or in behavioral and attentional disturbances. Surely, this time, before we permit the introduction of a new neurotoxin into our children's lives, we have the right to demand proof that it is unquestionably without harm to them. Crinella believes that the nutritional deficiencies common among criminals may lead to elevated manganese levels. Research indicates that a diet deficient in some nutrients, particularly calcium, causes the body to absorb manganese at an increased rate. In addition to the research Crinella cites, a number of other studies suggest a link between manganese and crime.