Gasoline: Its Harmful Effects to the Indoor Air

What gasoline is
Sources of gasoline
Health problems associated with gasoline exposure
Decreasing gasoline exposure

What Gasoline Is

Gasoline is a clear liquid volatile organic compound (VOC) with a characteristic odor. It is used as a fuel for internal combustion engines and as an organic solvent. Gasoline is an extremely flammable liquid and vapor. Gasoline is a complex mixture of petroleum hydrocarbons. The chemical and physical properties of gasoline vary a lot depending on the specific product. Typically, gasoline contains more than 150 chemicals, including small amounts of benzene, toluene, xylene, and sometimes lead. Initially added to gasoline as a replacement for lead, the fuel additive MTBE,  is now used as an additive to decrease carbon monoxide emission by increasing burning efficiencies. It creates a foul odor and taste in contaminated water. How the gasoline is made determines the chemicals present in the mixture.

Sources of Gasoline

Gasoline is mostly used as fuel for motor vehicles though sometimes it is used as a solvent. One is exposed to gasoline or its vapors in the following ways:

• By filling up a car's fuel tank at a service station.

• From garages, especially if they are attached to a home. One study indicated that levels of benzene concentrations inside garages were 16 times higher in the summer than outdoor levels and three times higher in the winter. The concentrations reported were 24 ppb in the summer and 8 ppb in the winter. The benzene was thought to have come from the stored gasoline and from the cars, power lawn mowers, and chain saws.¹

• By using equipment that runs on gasoline, such as a lawn mower.

• By drinking contaminated water. With about 1.4 million underground storage tanks (USTs) (possibly some 20 percent to 35 percent leaking), there is a good chance that water supplies could become contaminated, especially private wells. Contaminated water can enter a house through the plumbing (faucets, commodes, showers, baths, washing machines, and dishwashers), which can lead to exposures through drinking water or eating food, breathing in vapors released from sources of water in the house, and skin contact while bathing or showering.¹ The air in an average home is likely to be no more than 6.7 ppb of benzene. However, if the residence has a contaminated water supply from a leaking gasoline source, the average exposure could be as high as 42 ppb.¹

• By driving in traffic. Benzene exposures while commuting increase the longer one is in the car. One study calculated that while in the car, exposures increased to about 30 ppb during each commute.¹

Health Problems Associated with Gasoline Exposure

Health problems caused by gasoline can either be acute, which occur immediately or within a few days of exposure, or they can be chronic, which are long-term health effects. Exposure to gasoline can result in:

• Irritation to the eyes, nose, and throat (repeated exposure can cause permanent eye damage), often with headache or nausea

• Coughing, wheezing (repeated high exposure may damage the lungs)

• Skin irritation (dermatitis); drying and cracking of the skin; as a degreaser, gasoline removes the protective fat from skin

Higher levels of exposure may cause:

• Fatigue

• Blurred vision

• Dizziness

• Weakness

• Slurred speech

• Confusion

• Seizures, convulsions

• Coma

• Death

• Possible liver, kidney damage

• Cancer (possible kidney cancer)

If the liquid reaches the lung, damage to the lung tissue may occur, causing a 'chemical' pneumonia.

Decreasing Gasoline Exposure

• Walk, bike, or use public transit.

• Limit your use of fuel by driving a fuel-efficient car, by keeping it tuned, by carpooling, and by planning vehicle trips efficiently ("cold engine" starts really pollute).

• Consider modifying your engine to use propane, methanol or natural gas. They burn cleaner than gasoline. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is urging the US Congress to ban the fuel additive MTBE as well as encouraging refiners to replace it with ethanol?an action that would promote clean air and clean water.

• Avoid having to dispose of old gasoline. Stored gas can go stale after six months. Stale gas can make starting an engine very difficult or even impossible.

• For lawn mowers, buy a manual push mower. There are no fuel costs, no pollution, no noise, and you get exercise!

• If you have a power mower, buy only enough gas to do the job for the next month even ½ gallon at a time. Storing gas in mower can damage carburetor parts in a few months.

Reference

1. Akland GG. Exposure of the general population to gasoline. Environmental Health Perspectives. 1993 Dec;101 Suppl 6:27-32.