NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa., Sept. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Air quality programs using
reformulated gasoline (RFG) and oxygenated fuels are an "outstanding success"
and means 70 million Americans are now breathing healthier air, an ARCO
Chemical Company (NYSE: RCM) executive told the Democratic National Convention
in Chicago.
    Marvin O. Schlanger, ARCO Chemical's Executive Vice President and Chief
Operating Officer, was a panelist at the National Policy Council's August 26
policy forum, "This Land is Our Land," which was broadcast live in 12 cities.
Schlanger served on the panel with moderator Senator Harry Reid of Nevada,
Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon, Carol Browner, Administrator, Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA), Deb Callahan, Executive Director, League of
Conservation Voters, and Adam Werbach, Sierra Club President.
    Schlanger noted that the programs, developed as part of the U.S. Clean Air
Act, were an "unprecedented cooperative effort" of a coalition that included
the legislative branch, the EPA, automobile manufacturers, refiners, state
regulatory officials, oxyfuels producers, the agricultural industry and
environmentalists. Schlanger cited these reasons for the programs' success:
    -- RFG and oxygenated fuels programs reduced pollution by about 270,000
tons, according to EPA estimates.
    -- Pollution reduction is the equivalent of taking 7.5 million cars off
the nation's highways.
    -- Pollution reduction through these low-cost programs is "convenient and
unobtrusive," at a modest cost to the public of about $20 a year for the
average consumer.
    During the debate on the Clean Air Act, there were increased carbon
monoxide and ozone pollution alerts, Schlanger recalled. It was recognized
then that "something simply had to be done about automobile emissions," he
said.
    "There were a number of measures proposed that would have had a dramatic
effect on all of our daily lives from both a cost and convenience standpoint.
Reformulated gasolines and oxyfuels were developed to address this problem.
Oxygenated fuels, that is fuels reconfigured to burn cleaner, were to be
provided to those areas of the country with the most severe pollution
problems."
    Schlanger added that since oxygenated fuels are largely made from non-
petroleum sources, they also reduce the nation's need for imported oil, reduce
the trade deficit  and provide jobs for Americans.  "These are benefits that
go beyond the environment," he said.
    In closing, Schlanger said: "Air pollution affects those in our society we
have to protect the most: the young, the elderly, and pregnant women. We have
to recognize that air pollution is not only an environmental issue, but a
public health issue. And this is why our industry has been pleased to
participate in the development and implementation of these programs."
    The National Policy Council is a bi-partisan group established to foster
discussion of national issues.

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