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Committee on Ozone-Forming Potential of Reformulated Gasoline
WILLIAM L CHAMEIDES (Chair),
Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia
CHARLES A. AMANN,
KAB Engineering, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
ROGER ATKINSON,
University of California, Riverside, California
NANCY J. BROWN,
Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California
JACK G. CALVERT,
National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado
FRED C. FEHSENFELD,
National Oceanographic Atmospheric Administration, Boulder, Colorado
JOHN P. LONGWELL,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts
MARIO J. MOLINA,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts
S. TRIVIKRAMA RAO,
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Albany, New York
ARMISTEAD G. RUSSELL,
Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia
CHRISTOPHER L. SARICKS,
Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, Illinois
Staff
RAYMOND A. WASSEL, Project Director
JAMES ZUCHETTO, Senior Staff Officer
ROBERT J. CROSSGROVE, Editor
KATHRINE IVERSON, Information Specialist
MIRSADA KARALIC-LONCAREVIC, Information Specialist
TRACIE HOLBY, Senior Project Assistant
Board on Environmental Studies and Toxicology
GORDON ORIANS (Chair),
University of Washington, Seattle, Washington
DONALD MATTISON (Vice Chair),
March of Dimes, White Plains, New York
DAVID ALLEN,
University of Texas, Austin, Texas
MAY R. BERENBAUM,
University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois
EULA BINGHAM,
University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio
PAUL BUSCH,
Malcolm Pirnie, Inc., White Plains, New York
PETER L. DEFUR,
Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia
DAVID L. EATON,
University of Washington, Seattle, Washington
ROBERT A. FROSCH,
Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts
JOHN GERHART,
University of California, Berkeley, California
MARK HARWELL,
University of Miami, Miami, Florida
ROGENE HENDERSON,
Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute, Albuquerque, New Mexico
CAROL HENRY,
Chemical Manufacturers Association, Arlington, Virginia
BARBARA HULKA,
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
DANIEL KREWSKI,
Health Canada and University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario
JAMES A. MACMAHON,
Utah State University, Logan, Utah
MARIO J. MOLINA,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts
CHARLES O'MELIA,
Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland
KIRK SMITH,
University of California, Berkeley, California
MARGARET STRAND,
Oppenheimer Wolff Donnelly & Bayh, LLP, Washington, D.C.
TERRY F. YOSIE,
Chemical Manufacturers Association, Arlington, Virginia
Senior Staff
JAMES J. REISA, Director
DAVID J. POLICANSKY, Associate Director and Senior Program Director for Applied Ecology
CAROL A. MACZKA, Senior Program Director for Toxicology and Risk Assessment
RAYMOND A. WASSEL, Senior Program Director for Environmental Sciences and Engineering
KULBIR BAKSHI, Program Director for the Committee on Toxicology
LEE R. PAULSON, Program Director for Resource Management
Board on Atmospheric Sciences and Climate
ERIC J. BARRON (Co-Chair),
Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania
JAMES R. MAHONEY (Co-Chair),
I T Group, Inc., Washington, D.C.
SUSAN K. AVERY,
Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado
LANCE F. BOSART,
State University of New York, Albany, New York
MARVIN A. GELLER,
State University of New York, Stony Brook, New York
CHARLES E. KOLB,
Aerodyne Research, Inc., Billerica, Massachusetts
ROGER A. PIELKE, JR.,
National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado
ROBERT T. RYAN,
WRC-TV, Washington, D.C.
MARK R. SCHOEBERL,
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland
JOANNE SIMPSON,
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland
NIEN DAK SZE,
Atmospheric and Environmental Research, Inc., Cambridge, Massachusetts
ROBERT A. WELLER,
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts
ERIC F. WOOD,
Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey
Staff
ELBERT W. (JOE) FRIDAY, JR., Director
LAURIE S. GELLER, Program Officer
PETER A. SCHULTZ, Program Officer
DIANE L. GUSTAFSON, Administrative Assistant
ROBIN MORRIS, Financial Associate
TENECIA A. BROWN, Senior Program Assistant
CARTER W. FORD, Project Assistant
Commission on Geosciences, Environment, and Resources
GEORGE M. HORNBERGER (Chair),
University of Virginia, Charlottesville
RICHARD A. CONWAY,
Union Carbide Corporation (Retired), S. Charleston, West Virginia
THOMAS E. GRAEDEL,
Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
THOMAS J. GRAFF,
Environmental Defense Fund, Oakland, California
EUGENIA KALNAY,
University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma
DEBRA KNOPMAN,
Progressive Policy Institute, Washington, D.C.
KAI N. LEE,
Williams College, Williamstown, Massachusetts
RICHARD A. MESERVE,
Covington & Burling, Washington, D.C.
JOHN B. MOONEY, JR.,
J. Brad Mooney Associates, Ltd., Arlington, Virginia
HUGH C. MORRIS,
El Dorado Gold Corporation, Vancouver, British Columbia
H. RONALD PULLIAM,
University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia
MILTON RUSSELL,
University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee
THOMAS C. SCHELLING,
University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland
ANDREW R. SOLOW,
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts
VICTORIA J. TSCHINKEL,
Landers and Parsons, Tallahassee, Florida
E-AN ZEN,
University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland
MARY LOU ZOBACK,
U.S. Geological Survey, Menlo Park, California
Staff
ROBERT M. HAMILTON, Executive Director
GREGORY H. SYMMES, Associate Executive Director
CRAIG SCHIFFRIES, Associate Executive Director for Special Projects
JEANETTE SPOON, Administrative and Financial Officer
SANDI FITZPATRICK, Administrative Associate
MARQUITA SMITH, Administrative Assistant/Technology Analyst
Other Reports of the Board on Environmental Studies and Toxicology
Research Priorities for Airborne Particulate Matter: I. Immediate Priorities and a Long-Range Research Portfolio (1998)
The National Research Council's Committee on Toxicology: The First 50 Years (1997)
Toxicologic Assessment of the Army's Zinc Cadmium Sulfide Dispersion Tests (1997)
Carcinogens and Anticarcinogens in the Human Diet: A Comparison of Naturally Occurring and Synthetic Substances (1996)
Upstream: Salmon and Society in the Pacific Northwest (1996)
Science and the Endangered Species Act (1995)
Wetlands: Characteristics and Boundaries (1995)
Biologic Markers [Urinary Toxicology (1995), Immunotoxicology (1992), Environmental Neurotoxicology (1992), Pulmonary Toxicology (1989), Reproductive Toxicology (1989)]
Review of EPA's Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program (three reports, 1994-1995)
Science and Judgment in Risk Assessment (1994)
Ranking Hazardous Waste Sites for Remedial Action (1994)
Pesticides in the Diets of Infants and Children (1993)
Issues in Risk Assessment (1993)
Setting Priorities for Land Conservation (1993)
Protecting Visibility in National Parks and Wilderness Areas (1993)
Dolphins and the Tuna Industry (1992)
Hazardous Materials on the Public Lands (1992)
Science and the National Parks (1992)
Animals as Sentinels of Environmental Health Hazards (1991)
Assessment of the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf Environmental Studies Program, Volumes I-IV (1991-1993)
Human Exposure Assessment for Airborne Pollutants (1991)
Monitoring Human Tissues for Toxic Substances (1991)
Rethinking the Ozone Problem in Urban and Regional Air Pollution (1991)
Decline of the Sea Turtles (1990)
Tracking Toxic Substances at Industrial Facilities (1990)
Copies of these reports may be ordered from the National Academy Press
(800) 624-6242 or (202) 334-3313
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Preface
The clean air act requires the use of reformulated gasoline (RFG) in specific areas of the United States with substantial ozone-pollution problems in an effort to make emissions from light-duty motor vehicles (automobiles and small trucks) less ozone forming and less toxic. That act requires RFG to have a minimum oxygen content of 2% (by weight) to promote more-extensive combustion of ozone-forming pollutants. Methyl tertiary-butyl ether (MTBE) and ethanol are two of the most widely used oxygenates that are blended into RFG to attain the oxygen requirement.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has established emission performance standards for RFG blends based on the mass of emissions of volatile organic compounds. Because ethanol-blended gasoline has a higher volatility than other blends and thus results in increased evaporation of organic compounds, it is difficult for such blends to meet the RFG standards unless the ethanol is blended with special low-volatility gasoline, which is more expensive and not readily available in many markets.
Proponents for the increased use of ethanol in RFG believe that the effects of the increased volatility of ethanol blends could be offset by the benefits that might be achieved through a reduction in ozone-forming potential. It is believed that emissions from the use of ethanol blends of RFG are less reactive in the atmosphere. However, EPA has no established method to assess RFG blends on the basis of ozone-forming potential.
Some members of Congress have been urging EPA to consider certi-
fying RFG blends based on atmospheric reactivity or ozone-forming potential of the resulting emissions—not on just the mass of emissions as is done now. At the urging of Senator Lugar and others, EPA arranged for this study with the National Research Council (NRC). The Committee on Ozone-Forming Potential for Reformulated Gasoline was formed in 1997 by the NRC in response to the request from EPA.
The committee was asked whether the existing body of scientific and technical information is sufficient to permit a robust evaluation and comparison of the emissions from motor vehicles using different reformulated gasolines based on their ozone-forming potentials and to assess the concomitant impact of that approach on air-quality benefits of the use of oxygenates within the RFG program. As part of its charge, the committee was asked to consider (1) the technical soundness of various approaches for evaluating and comparing the relative ozone-forming potentials of RFG blends, (2) technical aspects of various air-quality issues related to RFG assessment, and (3) the sensitivity of evaluations of the relative ozone-forming potentials to factors related to fuel properties and the variability of vehicle technologies and driving patterns.
It is important to note that the committee was not asked to consider scientific issues beyond air quality, such as the relative health risks related to human exposure to various blends of RFG and their resulting emissions. Also, the committee was not asked to address the political, economic, and legal ramifications of changing the way that RFG certification is carried out.
The committee was generously assisted by many people, including those who presented valuable information and documents during the committee's public sessions: Charles Freed, Susan Willis, and Christine Brunner, U.S. EPA; Dean Simmeroth and Lawrence Larsen, California Air Resources Board (CARB) staff; Dennis Lawler, Illinois EPA; Michael Ward, of Swidler and Berlin; Gary Whitten, Systems Application International; Alan Dunker, General Motors; Cal Hodge, Oxygenated Fuels Association Technical Committee; Barry McNutt, U.S. Department of Energy; William Carter, University of California at Riverside; Robert Harley, University of California at Berkeley; Howard Feldman, American Petroleum Institute; Charles Schleyer, Mobil. Special thanks are due to Patricia McElroy and Robert Beaver of the University of California at Riverside, and Kevin Cleary of CARB staff who provided valuable assistance in data analysis. Also, Robert Dinneen, Renewable Fuels Association; Stephen Cadle, Coordinating Research Council; and Jose Gomez,
CARB staff, provided very useful information at the committee's request.
This report has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise in accordance with procedures by the NRC's Report Review Committee. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that assist the NRC in making the published report as sound as possible and to ensure that the report meets institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The content of the final report is the responsibility of the NRC and the study committee and not the responsibility of the reviewers. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process. We wish to thank the following individuals for their participation in the review of this report: David Allen, University of Texas at Austin; Bart Croes, CARB staff; Richard Derwent, Meteorological Office, Berkshire, U.K.; Alan Dunker, General Motors; Thomas Graedel, Yale University; Robert Harley, University of California at Berkeley; Harvey Jeffries, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Douglas Lawson, National Renewable Energy Laboratory; Thomas Peterson, University of Arizona; F. Sherwood Rowland, University of California at Irvine; Marc Ross, University of Michigan; Charles Schleyer, Mobil; Lance Waller, Emory University; and Gary Whitten, Systems Application International.
The individuals listed above have provided many constructive comments and suggestions. It must be emphasized, however, that responsibility for the final content of this report rests entirely with the authoring committee and the NRC.
The committee was ably assisted by NRC staff, especially Raymond Wassel, James Reisa, James Zucchetto, Laurie Geller, K. John Holmes, Robert Crossgrove, Ruth Danoff, Tracie Holby, and others.
Finally, I would like to express my thanks to the members of the committee for their diligent work. This report reflects the committee's consensus response to its charge.
WILLIAM CHAMEIDES,
CHAIR, COMMITTEE ON OZONE-FORMING POTENTIAL FOR REFORMULATED GASOLINE
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