Oh, you've seen it before (post 67):
From the updated version on my site:
Unfortunately, there were immediate adverse consequences to adding MTBE to gasoline. Partial combustion of the additive produces formic acid, a known lung irritant. In every instance of adding MTBE to gasoline, asthma cases have skyrocketed. Formulations with MTBE are also far more volatile than the original gasoline, which caused sufficient evaporation to completely offset the reduction in volatile organic compounds in exhaust gases. Finally, MTBE was incompatible with the fuel systems in many older vehicles, which caused subsequent fuel leaks, engine fires, and deaths. Again, changes in engine design had already rendered reformulated gasoline completely unnecessary in newer cars and trucks. This entire effort was chasing a non-problem while causing a series of mishaps.
Pursuant to the Amendments, EPA required oxygenated gasoline ONLY for the Los Angeles air basin and the Central Valley but authorized voluntary use of reformulated gasoline elsewhere. Accordingly, CARB mandated a formulation of 15% MTBE for the entire State. They were supported by every major environmental group. I am told that it was NRDC lawyer Mary Nichols who presided at the CARB hearings in LA, where CARB mandated reformulated gasoline with 15% MTBE for the entire State. The CARB formulation made ARCO so happy they put Governor Pete Wilson's wife on their board of directors.
Maybe it had something to do with the fact that the addition of oxygenates reduced gas mileage by up to 8%, creating an almost instant shortage in refining capacity for California’s “boutique formulation.”
My wife’s Riviera went from 28 mpg to 25 overnight and eventually every gas station in Humboldt county had to dig up their tanks and haul the contaminated soil to a “approved” dump site. It was as though the MTBE seeped through the walls of the tanks