Peter Kent

What is an MTBE and How it Hurts You

Methyl tertiary-butyl ether (MTBE) is one of the various additives used to oxygenate gasoline and can be a severe side effect to individuals working in and around gasoline. Unfortunately, it can also affect an individual on their commute home from work while they sit in traffic as well as when they fill up their gas tank. It's important to know how to check and protect yourself from MTBE contamination.

According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), the following are the occupations which are the most susceptible to conditions of dangerous exposure to Methyl tertiary-butyl ether (MTBE) one of various additives used to oxygenate gasoline:

. Gas Station Attendants

. Taxi drivers

. Bus drivers

. Delivery drivers

. Mechanics

. Gasoline processing plant employees

. Others with high exposures to oxyfuels

However, those with occupations that bring them into abnormally high levels of contact with gasoline in urban areas are not the only people at risk. Brief exposure when refueling a vehicle or while commuting may also present danger. Additionally, water contamination is another way to be exposed.

Fortunately, organizations such as the Environemental Protection Agency (EPA) have developed standards or recommendations specifically to ensure the safety of children in water levels. They have set the level at no more than 4 milligrams per liter of water for an exposure of one to 10 days, and they have also set long-term exposure at 3 milligrams per liter.

The American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) has recommended an exposure limit of 40 parts of MTBE per million parts of air (40 ppm) for an 8-hour work day/40-hour work week. If one has concerns or reservations about the drinking water in a particular area or levels of MTBE at work, it is prudent to contact a local health authority and take a sample of the questionable water to be analyzed for dangerous content. It is important that this occurs in areas with high traffic as well as in other areas with high gasoline levels.

Fortunately, there is no reason to be concerned about exposure to MTBE under any other circumstances than as an additive to gasoline, as it is not used for any other purposes. One minor exception to this is in the rare and extreme cases in which doctors use MTBE to dissolve gallstones.

Complaints regarding MTBE contamination or health risks fall under the category of toxic tort. Tort law requires the arguments of the plaintiff to be more persuasive than those of the defendant for damages to be awarded.

Cases regarding MTBE have gone to court and the plaintiffs have successfully received damages for ailments relating to the exposure to MTBE. In these cases it has been proven that companies have shirked responsibility and duty to warn consumers of the potential dangers of a product, or have been guilty of knowingly selling a defective product.

There are many approaches that can be taken to toxic tort litigation, and many reasons that the responsible parties may be held accountable for lack of due concern for public safety and the environment. Fortunately, legitimate recourse for people who have suffered pain or discomfort because of exposure to the dangerous additive MTBE is available.

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