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Senators urge approval of E85 pumps
WASHINGTON (AP)--Fourteen farm-state senators, including South Dakota's John Thune, are urging a private product-safety testing group to certify pumps that dispense ethanol. Thune, a Republican, said the lack of the group's certification has had a "chilling effect" on the installation of new E85 fuel pumps. Underwriters Laboratories Inc., suspended the approval in October while completing a safety review of the E85 pumps, which dispense 85 percent ethanol. The group has been investigating whether pump corrosion could cause explosions or other problems. Ethanol is primarily used as a 10 percent additive in conventional gasoline, but the alcohol in higher concentrations such as E85 has potential to corrode some types of metal and damage conventional rubber fittings and hoses. In a letter to the group's president and CEO, the senators said they are concerned the lack of new pumps could slow the development of ethanol, which is in increasing demand. "Potential vendors of E85 may have significant problems installing new equipment as a result of risk management issues associated with no UL listing," the senators wrote. Underwriters Laboratories, based in Northbrook, Ill., certifies the safety of a wide range of household products as well as industrial and automotive equipment . Certified items bear the distinctive UL logo. Although it is not a government agency, fire marshals and state agencies rely on UL certification to determine whether products are safe. John Drengenberg, UL's consumer affairs manager, said the process is taking longer because there are no current standards for E85 pumps. "We have been working on this for the last several months," Drengenberg said. "The matter is now and has been a very high priority." He said the group is researching standards and could be done with that stage in the last quarter of this year. But Drengenberg warned it could take longer than expected. Once the standards are set, they will be able to test the pumps. That process should take a few weeks, he said. "We want consistent, technologically sound requirements that would be scientifically valid," he said, adding that the group is "committed to moving extremely fast." Until the pumps are certified, said Thune, the growth of E85 infrastructure has been brought to a standstill. If UL doesn't act, he said, he might consider legislative action. "We think this is a big problem," he said. Also signing the letter were nine Democratic senators and four Republican senators, most of them from Midwestern farm states. 4 Star NE 3/26/07 6 B Date: 3/21/07
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