Tech Shout!

Most of us know ethanol as an eco-friendly, clean-burning fuel for cars. However a study conducted at the Stanford University could perhaps redefine the entire definition of the fuel. According to the study, widespread use of ethanol could pose a threat to human health.

Study author Mark Jacobson, a Stanford University civil and environmental engineering professor Mark Z. Jacobson concluded that if every vehicle in the United States were powered by fuel made primarily from ethanol instead of gasoline, there would a probable rise in the number of respiratory-related deaths and hospitalizations.

Each year, about 4,700 people, as per Jacobson, die from respiratory problems from ozone, the unseen component of smog along with small particles. Ethanol would raise ozone levels, particularly in certain regions of the country, including the Northeast and Los Angeles.

Apparently about 200 more people would die yearly from respiratory problems if all vehicles in the United States ran on a mostly ethanol fuel blend by 2020, the research concludes. Of course, the study author acknowledges that such a quick and monumental shift to plant-based fuels is next to impossible.

Jacobson used a computer model to simulate what air quality conditions in the United States would be in 2020 if there was widespread use of vehicles fueled by E85, a blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline.

“We found that E85 vehicles reduce atmospheric levels of two carcinogens, benzene and butadiene, but increase two others: formaldehyde and acetaldehyde,” Jacobson said in a prepared statement.

Adding, “In our study, E85 increased ozone-related mortalities in the United States by about 200 deaths per year compared to gasoline,” he said. “These mortality rates represent an increase of about 4 percent in the U.S. . . . above the projected ozone-related death rates for gasoline-fueled vehicles in 2020.”

In addition, the study also found that E85 would likely increase the number of asthma-related emergency room visits in the U.S. by 770 a year and the number of respiratory-related hospitalizations by 990 a year.

The study by Stanford University appears in last week’s online edition of the journal Environmental Science & Technology.