Electrostatic Discharge (ESD) Fires at Service Stations
Recently TRI has been retained by a National organization to conduct a scientific study of static electricity related fires at retail service stations and identify their possible root-causes. The study was completed in spring of 2004 and includes an extensive review of the available literature, an analysis of vehicle fuel systems and the refueling environment. Wolf Koch of TRI has previously participated in a number of service station fire investigations and the resulting litigation.

Gasoline Quality
During many years of covering dispensing technology, we have described the equipment, but published very few articles on the products being dispensed. Very little has been written on gasoline quality and how it affects dispensing equipment.

We have completed an analysis of gasoline quality and a report which accomplishes four objectives: provide a primer on gasoline, discuss the origins of gasoline contaminants and their removal, provide information on the effect of contamination on dispensing components, and answer the question of which grade of gasoline to purchase. The report has been updated in 2004 to include comments from other recent publications. The link to the report is Gasoline Quality.pdf; the link to the update is Gasoline Quality Update.pdf.

Operations and Maintenance of Vapor Recovery Systems
In 2002 TRI was retained by the American Petroleum Institute to develop a Recommended Practice for operations and maintenance of vapor recovery systems at gasoline dispensing facilities that specifies proper inspection and maintenance procedures for currently used systems and identifies common defects that degrade their effectiveness. API RP 1639 was published in July 2003 and is available from the American Petroleum Institute.

EPA Review of Protocols for Certifying Tank Testing Methods
In 2001, the U.S. EPA invited a number of experts to review the current protocols for certifying tank leak testing methods. Wolf Koch of TRI was one of the participants in the study and provided a critique of several current protocols. API RP 1639 was published in July 2003 and is abailable form the American Petroleum Intstitute.

Vapor Recovery
CARB staff presented proposals for an Enhanced Vapor Recovery program to its Board on March 23, 2000. While the Board adopted the program with significant changes over the earlier February staff report, additional changes have been made and the program has been passed by the Office of Administrative Law and become law. Our analysis of the EVR program published in two PE&T articles is available for downloading: Retooling the Vapor Recovery System: Will New Rules Evade Old Concerns? and Unanswered Questions Plague CARB's Efforts. The program's implementation is behind schedule. Only one Stage I system certifications were late and no enhanced Stage II systems are currently under certification testing.

With EVR, significant changes will have to be made in vapor recovery equipment. Wolf Koch has made an assessment of possible solutions now offered or contemplated by equipment vendors. The report is in two parts, the first covering vent processing, the second, modifications to dispensers and hanging hardware. The first part is available for downloading now, Developing Technology for Enhanced Vapor Recovery, while the second will be posted soon.

One of our past criticisms of the EVR rule-making process was that emissions factors were estimated from data which itself was suspect. During the January 2002 CAPCOA meeting, CAPCOA and CARB discussed interim results of an ongoing project of measuring actual hydrocarbon (HC) content of vehicle and underground storage tanks . As had been expected by many, the data show HC levels about 20% higher than assumed in CARB's EVR emissions factors. In practice, this means that new equipment certifications must achieve almost 97% efficiency in order to meet the EVR emissions factor of 7.6 lb HC per 1000 gallons, or 0.38 lb/1000 gallons of allowable emissions. We will provide a detailed analysis of the problem when the CARB/CAPCOA project is completed later this year.

CARB periodically posts revisions to older documents to their Vapor Recovery Web Page. The following URL will take you directly to that page: http://www.arb.ca.gov/vapor/vapor.htm.

Recent information on Enhanced Vapor Recovery can be found at: http://www.arb.ca.gov/vapor/evr/evr.htm.

Information concerning the California Air Pollution Control Officers Association can be found at: http://www.capcoa.org/News.htm.

Intellectual Property
In 2000, Wolf Koch reviewed intellectual properties as they pertain to the petroleum equipment industry. In a series of four articles, he covered patents, copyrights, trademarks and trade secrets. He has since added an article on choosing experts. All are available for downloading:
Are You in Need of an Expert?
Trade Secrets: Are yours Protected?
Copyrights: Who Owns Them?
Trademarks: Protecting Your Identity
Is a Patent in Your Future?