Nearly a decade after it was first brought, a lawsuit accusing two oil giants of widespread groundwater contamination in New Hampshire is expected to go to trial for their crimes. The two oil companies that are faced with this lawsuit are Exxon Mobil and Citgo. In 2003, New Hampshire sued 26 oil companies, claiming the gasoline additive M.T.B.E, or methyl tertiary butyl ether, caused groundwater contamination in a state where 60 percent of the population relies on private wells for drinking water. M.T.B.E. has been used in gasoline since the 1970s to increase octane and to reduce smog-causing emissions. While it was credited with cutting air pollution, it was found in the late 1990s to contaminate drinking water when gasoline is spilled or leaks into surface water or groundwater. New Hampshire is seeking more than $700 million in damages to test and monitor every private well and public drinking water system in the state and to cover cleanup costs where needed to ensure the safety of its citizens by not allowing this to happen again, and/or for the problem to worsen.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/30/us/2-oil-giants-face-trial-in-new-hampshire-water-pollution-suit.html?_r=0
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