page_title: Gasoline
section_title: Safety
hierarchical_section_title: Gasoline / Safety
caption_attribution_description: English: Source: "Emergency Response Guidebook." U.S. Department of Transportation, 2004, pages 16-17.
context_page_description: Gasoline, or petrol is a clear petroleum-derived flammable liquid that is used primarily as a fuel in most spark-ignited internal combustion engines. It consists mostly of organic compounds obtained by the fractional distillation of petroleum, enhanced with a variety of additives. On average, a 160-liter barrel of crude oil can yield up to about 72 liters of gasoline after processing in an oil refinery, depending on the crude oil assay and on what other refined products are also extracted.
  The characteristic of a particular gasoline blend to resist igniting too early is measured by its octane rating, which is produced in several grades. Once widely used to increase octane rating, tetraethyl lead and other lead compounds are no longer used in most areas. Other chemicals are frequently added to gasoline to improve chemical stability and performance characteristics, control corrosiveness and provide fuel system cleaning. Gasoline may contain oxygen-containing chemicals such as ethanol, MTBE or ETBE to improve combustion.
  Gasoline can enter the environment uncombusted, both as liquid and as vapor, from leakage and handling during production, transport and delivery.
caption: HAZMAT class 3 gasoline
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