GAO-02-753T ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION: MTBE from Underground Tanks

I am pleased to be here today to discuss the increasing concern that our nations waters are becoming contaminated with methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE). About a third of the states, in certain areas, use gasoline that contains MTBE to help them limit air pollution because it burns cleaner. However, the substance could also pose risks to human health, especially as a contaminant in drinking water wells. One of the primary ways in which the contaminant has migrated into wells and groundwater is from leaking underground tanks used to store gasoline. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has the responsibility through the Underground Storage Tank Program and working primarily through the states to ensure the tanks do not leak, and if they do, that the contamination is cleaned up. However, several studies, including our own report on EPAs implementation of the tank program,1 showed that many tanks have leakedand continue to leakhazardous substances, such as MTBE and benzene. These leaks, in turn, contaminate soil and groundwater, posing health risks to those who live nearby or drink the water. Such health risks can range from nausea to kidney or liver damage or even cancer. As a result, some communities have closed their drinking water wells. A recent news report illustrates the problem. A school in Roselawn, Indiana, discovered that the children had been using and drinking water with nearly 10 times the EPA-recommended safe level of MTBE. I understand that an investigation is trying to determine whether the MTBE came from a nearby tank and whether it is a factor contributing to the childrens nosebleeds and other reported health problems.