There's been talk of using unleaded fuel in our camp stoves, so I thought I would do a little research and look to see what is actually in unleaded fuel and what the toxicity is of the additives themselves. Unleaded fuel itself is a hydrocarbon so exposure to it should be avoided, but compounded with the additives, makes it even more toxic to humans and other life. Not only is it bad for humans but it is bad for camp stoves. Unleaded Reason Reason for unleaded fuel. It's in the name. Starting as early as the 1920s, lead was added to gasoline to rid combustion engines of knocks and pings also known as detonation that can make an engine run really rough and damage an engine. Lead was added to combat those affects and provided a more powerful fuel for increased horsepower. Compression and speed increased due to adding lead to the fuel. Leaded fuel became more prominent as the engines grew larger and more powerful, which required fuel to be compatible. You could ask for 'Ethyl' at the station and acquire this more powerful fuel. Over the years it was found that the lead was causing some environmental impacts. (I'm avoiding discussion of the impact of lead since that is a whole topic in and of itself.) So, an alternative to lead's effects was needed for smooth running of automobile engines. Out went the lead and in came the additives. Additives There are literally hundreds of companies that produce their own flavor of additives. There is a list maintained by the EPA that presents the name brands of these additives. The interesting thing to note here is that none of the chemical breakdowns are available for each of the products registered with the US EPA. What they don't tell is what the additives are composed of. Suffice it to say, many, if not all of the additive products are composed of mostly the following chemicals: Methyl tert-butyl ether – MTBE Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) BTEX - Benzene, Toluene, Ethelene, Xylenes Methanol, Ethanol - the alcohols Some of these additives are used to oxygenate fuel for engine combustion. The more oxygen in the fuel the better it burns. Others are used to increase the Octane and reduce detonation within the engine due to high compression within the cylinder. If the additives aren't there, the fuel will ignite due to pressure and high temps rather than the spark from the spark plug. MTBE MTBE has been blamed for many environmental hazards to ground water, air quality and so forth. The effects to the environment are still being argued, however the inhalation or ingestion by humans is toxic. Not as toxic as some of the other chemicals but is found to affect the central nervous system and can cause damage to the brain. PAHs PAHs in and of themselves are quite toxic to humans. These are quite dangerous and have been known to cause internal organ damage and cancer, mostly to the skin and lungs. It is also known for its genotoxicity in that it can cause genetic mutations in cell biology, altering the structure and causing damage. As a teratogen, it can cause birth defects. BTEXs BTEX is just a grouping of the -enes, Benzenes, Toluenes, Ethyl-Benzines, and Xylenes. All four are quite toxic, but one stands out as the most dangerous – Benzene, even deadly. Benzene causes cancer and is a notorious cause of bone marrow failure. "Vast quantities of epidemiologic, clinical, and laboratory data" link benzene to aplastic anemia, acute leukemia, and bone marrow abnormalities. Very bad stuff. I think we've had topics on CCS that covered Toluenes and Xylenes, which are both linked to cancerous tumors in the liver and kidneys. Pulmonary edema and hemorrhaging can occur if ingested into the lungs. Methanol Methanol and ethanol appear to have too different effects. Methanol causes the most physical damage to a person than ethanol. Metabolizing methanol will produce formaldehyde, where the body will then produce formates or formatic acid, which can cause kidney damage if not expelled quickly enough. Methanol can cause nausea, vomiting and lung damage and if exposed long enough can cause respiratory failure and eventually death. Ethanol affects the central nervous system. I think most, if not all, of us are aware of its affects, as in drunkenness. Mostly impairment, but it can cause internal organ damage in large enough doses. Compound problem Any one of the above compounds can cause problems alone. The real problem is when they are combined together to form an additive in unleaded fuels. Study after study shows that when combined, as is the case for additives in unleaded fuels, the potency of ill effects is magnified, especially when PAHs and BTEX are compounded, and usually are. In laboratory test involving animals, it was shown the cancerous growths and other problems were accelerated when they were exposed to combinations of the above chemicals. One chemcial required large exposure and dose, while combinations required less exposure for the same effects. How bad was lead? Camp Stove Use So when we use unleaded fuels in camp stoves our exposure occurs in two ways. First, the handling of the fuel when filling a fuel container and when filling stove fuel tank. As we pour it into the tank, the fuel vapors ascend up and we inhale a quantity and thus we are exposed. Another exposure occurs when the stove is actually running on the unleaded fuel. As it burns, the toxins are emitted into the air and through inhalation we are exposed again, especially if the stove is not burning the fuel efficiently as would be the case when the stove was designed for white gas or Coleman Fuel. The additives will not only clog a stove but will also expose us to the toxic effects. Perhaps Some Safe Practices So, what can we do if we need to use unleaded fuel in a camp stove? Use in a well ventilated area and never use inside or in a closed area, since all of the chemical additives are thrown out in the air for you to breath. Avoid breathing the fumes as much as possible. Avoid contact with skin. Keep food covered as much as possible when cooking. Store unleaded fuel in a safe place with adequate venting. Make sure your stove is well maintained and is able to combust the fuel. We all like blue flames, yellow flames are indicative of fuel not being combusted. Even the bluest flame doesn't combust all of the fuel. This alone will require more research. Apparently, winter blends have more additives than summer blends, use summer blends if you have to use unleaded fuels at all Use proper camp fuel whenever possible Apparently, low dosage will not kill or produce significant damage but can still cause short term problems with our gastrointestinal system, our nervous system and dermatological contact(skin). In summary, unleaded fuels can be harmful to humans and camp stoves. Use with caution, knowing that you can expose yourself to some nasty chemicals. Unleaded is cheaper but the long term effects are probably not worth it. By no means am I suggesting to stay completely away from unleaded fuel use. Just be aware and handle it with care. sam References: Gasoline Additives Environmental Hazards Summary - National Park Service Alphabetical List of Gasoline Additives - US EPA Reproductive and Developmental Toxicology - Ramesh C. Gupta, Google Book Link Unleaded Gasoline Additives Hazard Summary - National Park Service MTBE Hazard Summary - National Park Service Wikipedia Methyl_tert-butyl_ether Toxicity of Polycyclic Aromatic Hyrdorcarbons - Centers for Disease Control PAH Hazard Summary - National Park Service BTEX Hazard Summary - National Park Service http://thetruthaboutstuff.com/pdf/(107)%20Kavet%20Methanol%20Vapor%20Toxic%20Dosage%20for%20Man.pdf ]Toxicity of Inhaled Methanol Vapors, TheTruthAboutStuff[/url] Wikipedia - Benzene
you put a lot of work into that,thanks. i always use Coleman fuel but even with that and being careful i always tell myself that i'm glad that it's just a few times a year and outside.
"By no means am I suggesting to stay completely away from unleaded fuel use. Just be aware and handle it with care. " To me that goes for ALL fuels. Thank you for the article. I wonder (compared to a person that resides in a city) just what dosage you would get in a year from using unleaded for cooking you food when camping? Not meant as a 'dis' on your post, more a case of trying to put in perspective? Alan
Life is, has been and always will be be full of hazards. Even your old as humanity, fire of peat and logs emit noxious chemicals. Don't worry, just enjoy your campfire or campstove cooking/brewing whether on petrol or paraffin or meths. Cheers, Rob
G,,day very interesting, and thanks for the info. but in humour , the biggest threat to my health , is the fact i will die. this is not meant as sarcasm , just a joke. cheers kerry ps my humour can be warped.
Great information thanks for all the leg work. This does not mean that my emergency use would cease but I will definately would not use it with a Coleman oven. AR
Informative post. Nevertheless, I have never used automobile gasoline in a stove and can't think of any reason at all to do so in any ordinary situation. If the situation were extraordinary, it wouldn't matter if one had to use it for a bit. The Coleman "Dual Fuel" thing has always been just pure marketing as far as I can tell.
If you know the hazards then you'll be able to live life more fully. There are very hungry bears everywhere I camp in my neck of the woods. Does that stop me from camping? No. I'm aware of the hazards and I am prepared as best I can. Do I worry about the bears? A little. It's good to not be surprised. I worry more about winter camping than the bears (no bears when winter camping.) There are hazards with winter camping. I've learned many of them and have prepared by gaining the knowledge on what to do in hazardous situations. Would I stupidly put myself in danger? No. I know the hazards of using a gun. The projectile comes out of one end rapidly. As long as I know that, I'll be able to enjoy shooting them and pointing the gun and directing where I want the projectile to go. I know the hazards of driving a car - in big cities, deserts, mountains, valleys, ice, snow, rain. I'm quite prepared to deal with the hazards. There are unknowns - the other drivers. None of those things is going to stop me from driving. Rob, I get your point about not worrying and just enjoying, I totally agree. I enjoy life. I just want it to last a little longer. You know, this is similar to owning a knife. A sharp knife is best. A sharp mind makes it better. A dull knife can be unsafe. A dull mind with a dull knife is a bad combination. sam
