DANGEROUS AND CANCER-CAUSING PROPERTIES OF PRODUCTS AND CHEMICALS IN THE OIL REFINING AND PETROCHEMICAL INDUSTRY .15. HEALTH-HAZARDS AND HEALTH RISKS FROM OXYGENATED AUTOMOBILE FUELS (MTBE) - LESSONS NOT HEEDED

Recent studies by Belpoggi, Sofritti, and Maltoni (1995) have shown that oral exposure to MTBE causes dose-related, statistically significant increases in combined cancers of lymphoma and leukemias, and testicular Leydig cell cancers in rats. In 1992, Burleigh-Flayer et al. reported that inhalation exposure to MTBE caused an increase in the number of liver tumors in mice. In males, there was a statistical increase in carcinomas, while in females, there was a statistically significant increase in adenomas. In 1992, Chun et al. reported a statistically significant increase in kidney tumors in male rats after inhalation exposure. Methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) was added to gasoline (up to 15%) before long-term cancer studies were completed. Humans exposed to gasoline containing MTBE complain of extreme headaches, vomiting, diarrhea, fever, cough, muscle aches, sleepiness, disorientation, dizziness, and skin and eye irritation. In animals, in addition to the cancers mentioned above, MTBE is known to cause central nervous system (CNS) depression, tremors, ataxia, labored breathing, eye irritation, chronic inflammation of nasal mucosa, and an increase in liver weight. This illustrates that MTBE causes not only systemic effects, but is an animal carcinogen and a probable human carcinogen.