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CALIFORNIA REGION/*.+VATER QUALITY CONTROL BOARD Cal/EPA <br /> ' Oi CJ{yD" <br /> CENTRAL VALLEY REGION <br /> Q 3443 Routier Road,Suite A <br /> - - -E„ <br /> Sacramento, CA 95827-3098 <br /> Phone(916)255-3000 _ <br /> FAX(916)255-3015 C!< <' —'. Wit+ Pete Mon,Govertnr <br /> 1: 27 <br /> 18 July 1997 <br /> Revised 30 August 1997 <br /> To Whom It May Concern <br /> ANALYSIS REQUIRED FOR OXYGENATE COMPOUNDS USED IN CALIFORNIA <br /> GASOLINE - EPA METHOD 8260 (8240-13 and 8020) <br /> At a June 1997 meeting at the Department of Health Services in Berkeley,the statewide <br /> analytical methods committee for establishing analytical TPH and additive standards,was <br /> informed that oxygenate compounds,which may constitute a threat to groundwater,other <br /> than MTBE, have been and are being added to gasoline. The list includes,in order of <br /> analytical identification: <br /> 1. Methanol <br /> 2. Ethanol <br /> 3. Tertiary Butyl Alcohol (TBA) <br /> 4. MTBE <br /> 5. Di-isopropyl ether (DIPE) <br /> 6. Ethyl Tertiary Butyl Ether (ETBE) <br /> 7. Tertiary Amyl Methyl Ether (TAME) <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. Now <br /> we have learned that,TAME has been added to California fuels, since 1995. D]PE has been <br /> used on the East Coast,but recently has been found in Southern California ground water (May <br /> 1997) and San Joaquin County (August 1997). TBA has been found in ground water at a <br /> gasoline service station site in San Joaquin County (1100 ppb,August 1997). To date,we have <br /> no information regarding the use of ETBE in California. <br /> The introduction of these additives present analytical problems for laboratories because the <br /> multiple analytes can co-elute from the column. For instance,TAME may co-elute with <br /> benzene in the EPA-8020 analytical method commonly used today. Therefore,we believe that <br /> Mass Spectrophotometry (MS) is the most definitive procedure to determine oxygenate <br /> compounds. MS will likely increase the cost of sample analysis;but,until another <br /> comprehensive analytical method is developed that can distinguish between the compounds, <br /> we believe that EPA Method 8260 is the most reliable,readily available procedure for <br /> laboratories. Completion of proposed studies on analytical procedures for oxygenate <br /> compounds by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory,under contract to the State <br /> Water Resources Control Board, should provide additional guidance by early 1998. <br /> APCF <br /> 740 Recycled Paper Our mission is to preserve and enhance the quality of California's water resources,and <br /> ensure their proper allocation and efficient use for the benefit of present and future generations. <br />