ABSTRACT
Methyl tertiary-butyl ether (MTBE) has played a key role in the development of today’s regulatory approach to controlling vehicle emissions and meeting air quality improvement targets in the United States and throughout the world. However, the discovery of MTBE contamination of surface and groundwater caused by gasoline leaks from underground storage tanks, spills from gasoline transfers, and releases into lakes and reservoirs by marine craft has raised concerns over MTBE-contaminated drinking water. MTBE, even at very low concentrations, causes taste and odor problems, and very small amounts can potentially make large volumes of water unfit as a source of drinking water. This has prompted state and federal governments in the United States to review the environmental drawbacks associated with the use of MTBE as a gasoline blending component, and to initiate programs that would either ban or restrict its use. If MTBE use in gasoline is eliminated, the phaseout will have far-reaching impacts on not only the MTBE industry but also the refining and petrochemical industries worldwide.
