Gasoline toxicology: Overview of regulatory and product stewardship programs

Abstract

Significant efforts have been made to characterize the toxicological properties of gasoline. There have been both mandatory and voluntary toxicology testing programs to generate hazard characterization data for gasoline, the refinery process streams used to blend gasoline, and individual chemical constituents found in gasoline. The Clean Air Act (CAA) (Clean Air Act, 2012: § 7401, et seq.) is the primary tool for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to regulate gasoline and this supplement presents the results of the Section 211(b) Alternative Tier 2 studies required for CAA Fuel and Fuel Additive registration. Gasoline blending streams have also been evaluated by EPA under the voluntary High Production Volume (HPV) Challenge Program through which the petroleum industry provide data on over 80 refinery streams used in gasoline. Product stewardship efforts by companies and associations such as the American Petroleum Institute (API), Conservation of Clean Air and Water Europe (CONCAWE), and the Petroleum Product Stewardship Council (PPSC) have contributed a significant amount of hazard characterization data on gasoline and related substances. The hazard of gasoline and anticipated exposure to gasoline vapor has been well characterized for risk assessment purposes.

Recent advances in occupational and environmental health hazards of workers exposed to gasoline compounds

“…IJOMEH 2017;30(1) 8 Wooden et al [70], who found that workers exposed to fuel experienced upper-airway inflammation, as evidenced by significant increases in MPO, IL-8, and nasal fluid vanadium levels. In one study [60], a 6-week daily exposure of animals to gasoline inhalation caused extensive histological changes to the epithelial cell lining of the bronchioles, including dilatation of the smooth endoplasmic reticulum, loss of secretory granules in the Clara cells, loss of ciliated cells, prominent nuclear alterations, necrotic type II pneumocytes, degeneration of the mitochondria, as well as some neoplastic changes.…”

“…Since each of the BTEX compounds has an inherent toxic potential, workers at gasoline stations are the population at greatest risk of being simultaneously exposed to the synergistic and/or additive adverse effects of the gasoline constituents. Although the health and environmental hazards of gasoline had been previously documented through epidemiological and experimental studies over the past several decades [8], most of the study designs were outdated and thus were not conducted with contemporary fuels [9]. enquiry into patients' occupational history while trying to establish causality.…”

Prototype of an Interface for Hyphenating Distillation with Gas Chromatography and Mass Spectrometry

“…eir boiling points range from 35 to 200°C. 1,[4][5][6] Distillation is commonly used for separation of mixtures of volatile compounds due to di erences in their boiling points. It is used on an industrial scale for fractionation of petroleum (in re neries) as well as in the laboratory-scale sample preparation (e.g., before chemical analysis of complex samples).…”

PEG/PVDF membranes for separating organosulphur compounds from n‐heptane: Effect of PEG molecular weight

“…Sulphur in gasoline is a direct contributor of SO X emissions. Nowadays, environmental concerns have resulted in legislation which places limits on the sulphur content of gasoline . Accordingly, a number of solutions have been suggested to reduce sulphur in gasoline, such as hydrotreating, adsorption, and extraction .…”