E85
regulations in the making: time frame not certain
Brooke Tacker, posted Nov. 28, 2006
More information was needed after the Nov. 1 and 2 forum held
in Northbrook, Ill. concerning standard regulations for E85
dispensers. The forum, co-hosted by Underwriters Laboratories,
Inc. and the U.S. Department of Energy featured 32 national
experts discussing possible safety standards for E85 dispensers,
according to the UL news release published Nov. 6. Automobile
and petroleum company representatives, ethanol producers,
dispenser and component manufacturers, industry associations
and government agencies and researchers were asked to provide
UL with more information, data and research by Nov. 15.
“These companies are often competitors,” John
Drengenberg, consumer affairs manager at UL, said. “They
are hesitant to give out their information in front of other
companies. So, we set a two-week deadline to show our promise
of confidentiality.”
The purpose of the forum was to set up standards for dispensers
that use E85, an 85-percent ethanol mix with 15 percent regular
gasoline. Ethanol is alcohol based and a high alcohol concentration
is known to lead to more corrosion in dispensers than regular
gasoline products.
“The concern is that we do not want to have a system
built and installed, then because of corrosion, fuel ends
up leaking into ground water and on the ground around the
dispensers,” Drengenberg said.
The information gathered from different companies at the forum
was not enough. UL asked for data concerning the compatibility
of materials with ethanol, mainly soft metals and plastics,
from fuel companies and car manufacturers. Tests used when
building cars or pumps compatible with E85 were asked for,
too.
“Rather than reinventing the wheel, we decided to get
the information already out there,” Drengenberg said.
While waiting for the results to come in, Drengenberg said
that many local inspection authorities have OK’d the
continued use of E85, even though UL is holding off its approval
of pumps until after safety regulations have officially been
made.
UL sent communications to local authorities on what they were
doing and to explain the precautions they were taking and
the reasons why. We did not say to stop using E85, Drengenberg
said.
There still is no evidence of any ethanol dispensers leaking
fuel or corroding to the extent of explosion, he said. In
other words, nothing has gone wrong – yet.
UL is an independent, not-for-profit product-safety testing
and certification organization, according to the mission statement
written on the UL Web site. In this definition lies the word
“safety,” pointed out by Drengenberg.
We [UL] work for consumers and public safety, he said. “The
goal is to get consistent requirements that are technically
sound as quickly as possible with the right facts,”
Drengenberg said.
There is no current time frame on the publishing of safety
requirements for E85 dispensers. It all depends upon the information
received Nov. 15. Problems could still arise once data is
obtained. It might be conflicting or simply not enough.
As of approximately 3:30 p.m., Nov. 15, a considerable amount
of information from a variety or sources has been received
by UL.
“It is going to take time to sort through and we do
not know if we have enough right now,” Drengenberg said.
