A man-made petrol additive known as MTBE (methyl tertiary butyl ether) has been found in South Africa’s ground water. This contaminant has been banned in Denmark; some US states and is the subject of class action lawsuits. It is also a known cause of cancer if consumed in high doses.New York city is currently in a legal battle with Exxon Mobil over the poisoning of their groundwater, the district court found it would contaminate water wells for years to come.

Jennifer Pretorius, water researcher,  said she discovered the chemical while working on "confidential" research projects as far back as 2003

"All over the country, where there's a leak, we're finding MTBE in the soil."

The most likely causes of the contamination are oil spills whilst transporting or piping the fuel and storage tank leaks. MTBE dissolves easily in water; therefore it very quickly spreads through ground water leaving it undrinkable.

"MTBE does not degrade easily and is difficult and costly to remove from groundwater," the US Environmental Protection Agency has said.

According to the agency, MTBE can cause cancer but in high doses that haven’t been found in drinking water, however it isn’t yet known if there are any other harmful effects if a lower dosage is consumed.

MTBE, which was not used at all in South African refineries, found its way into the country when refined petrol needed to be imported, Pretorius said.
Anton Moldan, environmental adviser to the SA Petroleum Industry Association, said because MTBE had not yet actually been found in drinking water, it had kept a low profile: "It's a known fact that it has been found in groundwater, but it has not yet been found to have an impact on our drinking water."

But, he added: "There shouldn't be any of the stuff there at all."

Mbangiseni Nepfumbada, The Department of Water Affairs director for water resources information management, said the government was aware of MTBE pollution, but there was no specific legislation to control its use.
Nepfumbada stated that by law, polluters should be held liable. Companies storing fuel were obliged to manage their own pollution.

But in cases of MTBE contamination, he said: "Once it is in the groundwater systems, remediation in the sense of removing it physically just does not succeed."

Water researchers Jo Barnes, of Stellenbosch University, and Christine Colvin, of the CSIR, both said the "cocktail" of chemicals that accompanied fuel leaks, not just MTBE, were of concern.

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