ARCHIVED REPORTS_XR0003172 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

10/12/1995 20.44 9163519357 ANNE M FARR PAGE 09 Contact. . Match Snow C70)64&4460 John Zogorskt(605)394-1750 GASOLINE ADDITIVE FOUND IN URBAN GROUND WATER For release:UPON RECEIP?(Prepared March 31, 1995) A common gasoline additive, methyl-tert-butyl ether(MTBE), has been found in the shallow ground water of eight urban areas being studied as part of the National Water-Quality Assessment being conducted by the United States Geological Survey USGS scientists empbasized that only three percent of the wells sampl�ed in urban areas had concentrations of MTBE that exceeded the estimated lower limit of the EPA draft drinking water health advisory level Contaminant concentrations below the health advisory are not expected to cause any adverse effects over a lifetime of exposure According to senior hydrologist John Zogorski, on average, 27 percent of shallow urban wells had detectable concentrations of MTBE- MTBE was detected in shallow ground water in Denver, Colo. New England, Reno, Nev . Albany, N Y., Dallas/FL Worth,Texas, Las Vegas, Nev , Atlanta, Ga . and Albuquerque N M In Denver, 79 percent of the shallow urban wells had detectable concentrations of MTBE In urban areas within Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont, 37 percent of the wells had detectable concentrations By contrast,only 1.3 percent of the wells sampled in 20 agricultural areas had detectable concentrations of MTBE MTBE was detected only in agncultural areas in southern Coto. New England, and eastern Pa , according to Zogorsia The USGS scientist also said that none of the urban wells sampled were being used as a source of drinking water In general, public water supplies draw water from the deeper parts of the ground water system and there are few data showing concentrations of MTBE at these depths The concentrations of MTBE and 59 other volatile organic compounds were measured by the USGS in samples of shallow ground water from 211 urban wells and 524 agricultural wells rn 1993-94 Wells for these studies were randomly located and iastalleJ within specific land-use areas to assess the effects of different land uses on ground water quality MTBE, derived from natural gas, is added to gasoline in many parts of the United States to increase the octane level and to reduce carbon monoxide and ozone levels in the air.The U S Envuvnmental Protection Agency tentatively classifies MTBE as a possible human carcinogen. The amount of MTBE released during refueling at service stations and from engine exhaust is unknown, but may be an important source of MTBE in the environment. Lealdug underground storage tanks and spalls at the land surface may also be sources of MTBE in the envarownenL Although AfTBE will vaporize from soils, it can move into ground water Once in ground water, MTBE as more resistant to decay than other gasoline components such as benzene. MTBE is not expected to accumulate in aquatic life in surface water. one of the goals of the USGS National water Quality Assessment Program is to provide a comprehensive a wamment of the quality of most of the Nation's water resources As the Nation's largest water resources and earth science information agency, the USGS monitors water • quality and quantity at more than 43,000 sites across the Nation in cooperation with more than 1,100 federal, state and local agencies Additional information on MTBE in ground water can be found in •Occurrence of Gasoline Additive Aff BE it Shallow Ground Water in Urban and Agricultural Areas' by Paul J. Squillace, Daryll A. Pope, and Curtis V