State to investigate threat of gas additive

Scott Reeder

Wednesday, Dec. 9, 1998 | 11:18 a.m.

The state will research possible health risks caused by a gasoline additive.

The Nevada State Environmental Commission directed its staff Tuesday to research the issue of whether Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether, or MTBE, poses a potential health hazard.

The additive, which helps reduce vehicle emissions, is standard in California, but relatively uncommon in gasolines sold in Nevada, said Michael Naylor, director of the air pollution control division of the Clark County Health District.

Naylor asked the commission to deliver an opinion on MTBE use in Nevada.

While the chemical reduces air pollution, some fear it can contribute to water pollution, Naylor said.

Nancy Balter, a Colorado toxicologist, testified that while MTBE has caused tumors in laboratory animals, it has not been shown to cause cancer in humans.

"It remains an area of active scientific debate," she said. "There is no conclusive evidence that MTBE causes cancer in humans."

Balter works as a consultant to the Oxygenated Fuels Association.

But Naylor said some university studies indicate there are potential health risks.

The chemical most frequently enters the water supply through leaking underground storage tanks, he said.

The gasoline had been used during the winter months throughout Clark County from 1988 till 1995. It is now used in about 1 percent of oxygenated fuel during the summer, primarily in racing fuels and on special request at some service stations.

The Health District gave the Environmental Commission until March 1 to decide whether regulations should be mandated for summer use of MTBE gasoline, if it deems it to be safe.

Naylor has said the district's authority only applies to air pollution. Ground water comes under the jurisdiction of the Environmental Commission.

In states such as Alaska and Montana, MTBE was excluded from gasoline, because people complained it caused headaches and irritated their noses and throats.

Balter said there is no scientifically verifiable evidence that the chemical often causes this reaction. But she conceded that it is possible that a small group of people who are highly sensitive to certain chemicals could be affected.