Underground Storage Tanks

The information on this page is organized into several different sections, including: Physical & Chemical Properites, Toxicological Properties, Transport & Fate, Analytical Methods, and Fuel Composition.

Physical & Chemical Properties

• Chemical Properties of Selected Compounds (2 pp, 19K, About PDF)
  Table E1, in "Achieving Clean Air and Clean Water: The Report of the Blue Ribbon Panel on Oxygenates in Gasoline (PDF)", (119 pp, 478K, About PDF)
  EPA 420-R-99-021, September 15, 1999.
• Oxygenate Identification
  table summarizing synonyms, physical and chemical properties for various oxygenates
• Chemical of the Week: METHYL TERTIARY-BUTYL ETHER
• Envirofacts Warehouse Chemical References: Methyl Tert-Butyl Ether (MTBE) CAS #1634-04-4
• Methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) CASRN 1634-04-4
  (from EPA's Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) database)
• ChemFinder.Com
  Chemical and physical properties, more information, and additional links. Enter "MTBE" in the search block
• Chemical Profile for METHYL TERT-BUTYL ETHER (CAS Number: 1634-04-4)
• Chemical Fact Sheet CAS Number: 1634044 Methyl Tert-Butyl Ether

Toxicological Properties

• Assessment of Potential Health Risks of Gasoline Oxygenated With Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether (MTBE) (PDF) (60 pp, 3MB, About PDF)
  EPA EPA/600/R-93/206. Office of Research and Development, November 1993.
• Comments on Health & Environmental Assessment of MTBE
  comments from Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute, Albuquerque, NM to CALEPA
• METHYL tert-BUTYL ETHER 1634-04-4
  Air Toxics Website, U.S. EPA
• Methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) CASRN 1634-04-4
  Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS), U.S. EPA
• Revised and Updated Drinking Water Quantification of Toxicological Effects for Methyl Tert-Butyl Ether (MTBE) (PDF) (51 pp, 2.0MB, About PDF)
  Final Draft. ECAO-CIN-DO23, July 1993. Environmental Criteria and Assessment Office, Cincinnati, OH.
• Summary of available MTBE Aquatic Toxicity Data: February 1998 (PDF) (2 pp, 71K, About PDF)
  Courtesy of Eugene Mancini, ARCO, Los Angeles, CA

Transport & Fate

• Environmental Behavior and Fate of MTBE
  Paul J. Squillace, James F. Pankow, Nic E. Korte, and John S. Zogorski, 2/98
• Oregon Graduate Institute (OGI) MTBE Research
  • Assessment of the MTBE Problem
  • Analytical Methods
  • Transport and Fate
  • Remediation and Treatment

Analytical Methods

• AccuMeter Rapid Test for Methyl-Tertiary Butyl Ether in Aqueous Samples
  National Center for Environmental Research and Quality Assurance, Office of Research and Development, U.S. EPA
• Analytical Issues for MTBE and Related Oxygenate Compounds (3 pp, 181K, About PDF)
  Crumbling, D.M. and B. Lesnik. LUSTLine, Bulletin 36, November 2000, pp.16-18.
• Analytical Methodologies for Fuel Oxygenates (2 pp, 18K, About PDF)
  EPA Fact sheet, EPA 510-F-03-001, April 2003.
• Analytical Methods for Fuel Oxygenates (8 pp, 474K, About PDF)
  LUSTLine, Bulletin #42, pp.1-8, October 2002.
• Evaluation of Standard Methods for the Analysis of Methyl tert-Butyl Ether and Related Oxygenates in Gasoline-Contaminated Groundwater.
  Halden, Happel, and Schoen, 2001, Environmental Science & Technology, Vol.35, no.7, pp.1469-1474.
• Guidelines for Investigation and Cleanup of MTBE and Other Ether-Based Oxygenates (20 pp, 72K, About PDF)
  California Environmental Protection Agency, State Water Resources Control Board. Final Draft. March 27, 2000.
• MTBE Analysis by Purge and Trap GCMS
  from West Coast Analytical Service, Inc. (WCAS)
• Oregon Graduate Institute (OGI)
  • MTBE Research: Analytical Methods
• U.S. Geological Survey Method for Methyl tert-Butyl Ether and Other Fuel Oxygenates
  MTBE Fact Sheet 219-95

Fuel Composition

• Information on Reformulated Gasoline (RFG) Properties and Emissions Performance by Area and Season
  These tables and graphs are based on EPA's analysis of data generated from surveys conducted by the RFG Survey Association, an association of refiners, importers and blenders, as a requirement of EPA regulations. Users are encouraged to read the Methodology and Explanation of the survey information. For more information, contact Stuart Romanow, phone: (202) 564-9296.
• Oxygenate Type Analysis 1995 RFG Survey Data (6 pp, 30K, About PDF)
  listing of sample analysis results for oxygenate content in fuel from numerous cities
• Gasoline MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet)
  from web site of T.W. Brown Oil Co., Inc., Ventura, CA

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