Methyl Tertiary-Butyl Ether (MTBE)

A gas additive that was incorporated in the mid-80’s into gasoline to reduce carbon monoxide (CO) emissions. It has increasingly appeared in groundwater due to spills of reformulated gasoline and leaking underground storage tanks at gasoline stations. It is highly soluble and its appearance typically marks the leading front of a contamination plume. MTBE is adsorbed onto activated carbon.

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