LePage orders study of health effects of ethanol emissions

[jpak]

Source: Portland Press Herald

Governor Paul R. LePage has issued an Executive Order for state agencies to study the health effects of emissions produced by the combustion of gasoline that contains ethanol, a widely used additive.

In addition, LePage directed all state agencies to implement a purchasing preference for gasoline blended with 5 percent or less of ethanol, provided the cost is comparable to gas blended with a higher concentration of ethanol.

The governor said in a statement that he issued the order because of federal mandates that have spurred increased production and use of ethanol as a fuel additive to combat air pollution.

“It’s important that with the increased use of ethanol mixed gasoline that we understand the environmental and health risks associated with it,” LePage said. “This Executive Order will help identify data so we can make better informed decisions regarding the use of ethanol.”

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Read more: http://www.pressherald.com/2016/06/20/lepage-orders-study-of-health-effects-of-ethanol-emissions/comments/

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Doing the Koch's bidding once again.

yup

[allan01]

1. agreed

when are they going to do a "study" on the efects of petrol and its products ? never .

[getagrip_already]

2. this man is insane...

Really, health effects of burning alcohol?

It would be much better to study the health effects of ingesting ethanol.

Sheesh.

Fwiw, burning ethanol will produce water and co2, some co if there isn't enoygh oxygen for the combustion to completely oxidize, and in a gas mix, some aldehydes.

But it is particle free, and the by products are not considered to be harmful (well, far less than gasoline produces on its own anyway).

[4139]

3. Hhh, I had never heard such stuff so I looked...

However, scientists from the University of Leeds and the University of York have now shown that ethanol blended fuels
could also have environmental drawbacks. The team sampled London’s air during 2012 and found significantly higher levels of atmospheric ethanol, and its related oxidation product acetaldehyde, than those predicted by the NAEI, the UK’s national emissions estimate. In fact, current models underestimated acetaldehyde levels by up to a factor of 40.

Despite their importance in the urban atmosphere, ethanol and acetaldehyde are seldom studied. ‘Because they’re not part of air quality regulations, they’re not routinely measured,’ explains Rachel Dunmore from the University of York, who led the study. ‘We know that they can have adverse health effects or other air quality effects such as ozone production, so the fact that we observed high levels of them piqued our interest.’

Acetaldehyde is a respiratory irritant and a suspected carcinogen. Engines can generate acetaldehyde, as can ethanol being photo-oxidised in the air. In addition, both ethanol and acetaldehyde are active in other photochemical processes such as ozone production, long after they are emitted. Because ethanol is long-lived, increased emissions from somewhere like London could result in increased ozone production in downwind areas.


http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/2016/04/biofuel-petrol-blends-air-pollution-acetaldehyde


Maine is not exactly an urban center

[L. Coyote]

4. Gasolione is xylene & toluene. Why not study that? Why is gasoline exempt from OSHA?

Gasoline is absolutely frightening, unless you have become accustomed to ignoring the ingredients.

[BlackLivesMatter]

5. I hear you can probably get drunk off the emissions

{sarcasm off}

[One_Life_To_Give]

6. Not like Maine really needs an Oxygenate in it's gasoline

Dumb sure. But it's not going to have much impact on air quality in Maine. Probably help out their small engines that many can't afford to replace though. So could be popular with many residents.