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CALIFORNIA REGION^ l WATER QUALITY CONTROL BOARD• <br /> CENTRAL VALLEY ON CaLUEPA <br /> 3443 Rondo Road,827- 0 <br /> °o-.w„�,�`• Shone enuo,(916) CA 95827-3098 <br /> Phone(916)255-3000 <br /> FAX(916)255-3015 <br /> fete`A7sot;Goverrvr <br /> 18 July 1997 <br /> To Whom It May Concern <br /> ANALYSIS REQUIRED FOR OXYGENATE COMPOUNDS USED IN CALIFORNIA <br /> GASOLINE - EPA METHOD 8260 <br /> At a recent meeting at the Department of Health Services in Berkeley, the statewide analytical <br /> methods committee for establishing analytical TPH and additive standards, was informed that <br /> oxygenate compounds, outer than MTBE,have been and are being added to California <br /> gasoline which may constitute a threat to groundwaters. The list includes,in order of <br /> analytical identification <br /> I. Methanol <br /> 2• Ethanol <br /> 3. Tertiary Butanol <br /> a• MTBE <br /> 5. Di-isopropyl ether (DIPE) <br /> 6. Ethyl Tertiary Butyl Ether (ETRE) <br /> 7. Tertiary Amyl Methyl Ether (TAILIE) <br /> The first three are alcohols and the latter four are ether compounds. Ethanol has been used for <br /> several years in California MTBE, as you know has been used as an octane enhancer additive <br /> since the late 1970s and is now used at a higher percentage as an oxygenate in gasoline. Since <br /> 1995,TAME, manufactured by Chevron, has been added to California fuels. DIPE has been <br /> used on the East Coast,but-recently has been found in Southern California ground water (May <br /> 1997). To date,we have no information regarding the use of ETRE in California. <br /> The introduction of these additives present analytical problems for laboratories because of the <br /> number of analyses required and internal interference. For instance, TANM is difficult to <br /> distinguish because it co-elutes with benzene in the EPA-8020 analytical method commonly <br /> used today. Therefore,the analytical methods committee concurred that EPA-8260 is required <br /> to determine which compound has been used. This analytical method will likely increase the <br /> cost of sample analysis;but, until another comprehensive analytical method is developed that <br /> can distinguish between the compounds,EPA 8260 is the single,provisional method of <br /> analysis for these compounds. <br /> This problem is further compounded because the oil refineries shipgasoline around the state I <br /> and then trade gasoline between moa aphic aeras. For instance gasoline is neededizt the <br /> if <br /> San Francisco Bay area by Shell, Shell will obtain some Pasoiine from, say, Chevron in the Bay area and, in exchange, Chevron will receive some Shell gasoline in Southern California. The t <br /> Rw cied Pape <br /> Ow minion io to preserve and enhmree the orr and th <br /> enrdw e ojefu'ornio'r:vara reromtet,and <br /> tve e prapo a[!orction effaaott rite for rima <br /> �'e%tr fpTsaa and j�Seamxdonc <br />