Potential Health Risks of Ethanol 1999 Draft

Nov 2, 1999

On March 25, 1999, Governor Gray Davis issued Executive Order D-5-99 which stated that, while the gasoline additive, methyl tertiary-butyl ether (MTBE), has benefited California by decreasing air pollution, it also poses an environmental threat to groundwater and drinking water. Weighing all of the evidence, the Governor declared that there is significant risk to the environment from using MTBE in gasoline in California. As a result, the Governor assigned tasks, by way of the Executive Order, to various designated state agencies, regarding the reformulation of gasoline in the State. Task 10 requires the California Air Resources Board (CARB) and the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) to conduct an environmental fate and transport analysis of ethanol in air, surface water, and ground water. It further requires the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) to prepare an analysis of the health risks of ethanol in gasoline, the products of incomplete combustion of ethanol in gasoline, and any resulting secondary transformation products. This draft report, prepared by OEHHA, is the analysis of the potential public health impacts of ethanol as an oxygenate in gasoline.

This document is available for public review for a 30-day period ended on November 30, 1999.

Please direct all comments to:

Air Toxicology and Epidemiology Section
Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment
1515 Clay Street, 16th Floor
Oakland, CA 94612

Phone inquiries regarding the document can be directed to: (510) 622-3150.