(The online version of the research paper cited below was placed on the American Chemical Society's ASAP (As Soon As Publishable) web site on Oct. 10. This restricted access site is primarily designed for journal subscribers and individuals wishing to order specific articles. Journalists desiring full access to papers at the ASAP site must submit their requests in writing to n_blount@acs.org in the ACS Office of News & Information.)

Boats and other motorized watercraft are likely to be the primary source of MTBE (methyl tert-butyl ether) contamination in lakes and reservoirs, according to researchers at the University of California, Davis. MTBE, a fuel oxygenate, and the subject of much controversy in recent years, is added to gasoline in many areas of the country to increase burning efficiency and reduce emission pollutants. It has been identified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as a possible human carcinogen.

Results of a ten-month study examining MTBE in California's Donner Lake were published in the Oct. 10 Web edition of the peer-reviewed scientific journal Environmental Science & Technology, published by the American Chemical Society, the world's largest scientific society. The article also will appear in the journal's Dec. 1 print edition.

"Exhaust products were the primary source of MTBE to Donner Lake and, we hypothesize, for most lakes and reservoirs," claims the report's lead author John Reuter, Ph.D., of the university's Tahoe Research Group. Two-cycle engines, commonly found in personal watercraft and outboard motors, generally have exhaust ports at or below the water line. "The seasonal distribution of MTBE correlated almost perfectly with boat use," Reuter said. He notes that, "statewide in California, surface water bodies that allow boating generally show measurable MTBE, while it is uncommon that a lake or reservoir without boating would contain MTBE."
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Contact: Marvin Coyner
m_coyner@acs.org
202-872-460
American Chemical Society
30-Oct-1998