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New EPA rules will reduce toxic fumes from gasoline

WASHINGTON - Toxic fumes from cars and gasoline would be cut significantly under new limits on cancer-causing benzene, adopted by the Bush administration under legal pressure from environmental groups.

The requirements, to take effect between 2009 and 2011, would reduce toxic emissions of benzene and other pollutants from passenger vehicles by up to 80 percent in the next two decades, the government said Friday.

The Environmental Protection Agency said the rules would toughen benzene standards for gasoline, require cleaner-starting engines in cold temperatures and tighten fuel container standards to reduce the evaporation of harmful fumes.

The new rule meets a court order that the EPA require refineries to meet an average 0.62 percent benzene fuel limit by 2011, down from the current average of 0.97 percent.

The rule also would create a trading program that would let refineries buy emissions credits to meet new regional limits, rather than impose strict emissions controls.

Benzene is a highly toxic pollutant known to cause cancer and is one of the worst sources of cancer risk in many parts of the country.

While hailing the stricter standards for benzene emissions, some critics attacked the credit-trading program, which they said would let refineries in some parts of the country avoid significant reductions in benzene levels in their gasoline.

"Having benzene levels go down in Newark, New Jersey, won't do much for the health of people in Portland, Oregon," said Emily Figdor of U.S. Public Interest Research Group.

EPA spokesman John Millett said Benzene levels vary widely from refinery to refinery, and a program that required all refiners to reach the same benzene level at the same time would be extremely expensive for a large number of refineries.

By setting a national average, the program provides refiners "a degree of flexibility in the amount of benzene reduction they pursue," resulting in an overall reduction in benzene levels while minimizing costs, Millett said.

[Last modified February 10, 2007, 01:54:47]