Mark Hooper asked :
> Is this the same poison that the company has used the free trade agreement
> with Canada to block Canadians removing from the gasoline due to health
> risks?
Dean Paige replied :
> No, that would be methyl tertial butyl ether (MTBE).
There was actually a similar flap over MMT ... but whether it counts as a
poison or not is highly debatable. The concern is over Manganese, which is
actually an essential trace element for humans (unlike lead), and is used in
far smaller concentrations than lead. It seems the stuff is fairly benign
when ingested, any excess just passes through. Breathing it is a bit more
dangerous; workers who are constantly exposed to very high airborne levels
of the stuff for many years do develop a neurological disorder similar to
Parkinson's. However, the last study I read said that the disorder appeared
to be reversible; that is it went away when the subjects were no longer
exposed. And, the concentration required to cause this disorder was some
5000 times the maximum concentration expected (again obviously depending on
whose numbers you believe) if every car on the road was using MMT; and you
were standing in a long, busy, poorly ventilated tunnel.
The Canadian issue was not health concerns, but rather that MMT is said to
interfere with some emission control devices (like catalytic converters and
O2 sensors). However, that conclusion was based on a report done by Ford,
that was later found to be fraudulent by the US EPA (and Ford paid a fine
for submitting it). The NAFTA issue was never decided, the Canadian
government withdrew the bill.
This information, and more, are in the links I posted :
> FWIW, here's the US EPA's comments on it's use as a gasoline additive :
> http://www.epa.gov/otaq/regs/fuels/additive/mmt_cmts.htm
> and a not-so-brief history of it's rather checkered past:
> http://www.nrtee-trnee.ca/eng/programs/Current_Programs/Health/MMT_e.htm
BTW, I just checked, the vitamins I take every day contain 3.5mg of
manganese. Somehow, I don't think it's poisonous <g>
Randall
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