The Underwriters Laboratories, a product-safety testing organization, has decided to pull its certification of fuel dispenser components for fuels with more than 15 percent ethanol.

UL Consumer Affairs Manager John Drengenberg said UL has not been authorizing full dispensers because no one had asked the organization to until a few months ago.

“When the manufacturer came for authorization of the E85 dispenser, UL started looking into it and discovered some issues that needed to be cleared up before authorization could proceed,” he said.

A fuel pump is a single component of the overall unit, which is the dispenser. Specific components of the fuel dispenser had been authorized by UL, but that authorization has now been suspended.

“We suspended it because someone had asked us to look at the entire system. When we looked more deeply at that, we decided that we wanted to get more data before we went ahead and listed, as we call it, the ‘full fuel dispensing system,'” Drengenberg said.

Certification of entire dispensers has never been done by UL, said Monte Shaw, executive director for the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association.

“The UL has never approved a dispenser pump for gasoline or ethanol or E85; they have always simply certified compatibility of individual components,” he said.

People are still moving forward with E85 even with the decision by the UL, Shaw said. He stressed that this is completely safe, as well as legal.

“Iowa has three new E85 pumps out there, so we are now up to 51 total,” he explained.

Although there have been no reported problems, Drengenberg said that UL is taking precautions to be safe.

He said the organization is working hard to make sure it can make fuel dispensers and their components safe.

“We like ethanol, E85; there’s nothing wrong with alternative fuels. Our focus, of course, is on the actual pump and dispensers,” he said.

Shaw understands why the UL is doing this, but he hopes it can be resolved quickly.

“Is the UL asking the right questions? Absolutely. But I firmly believe that the answers that they’re seeking are readily available today,” he said.

Some materials in current E85 pumps may not be safe in the long run, Shaw said, so by July 1, 2009, all E85 pumps must be certified by the UL. However, that doesn’t mean they are not safe.

The effect of high concentrations of ethanol is why the UL pulled certification, Drengenberg said.

“The issues involved the fact that E85 has a very high alcohol concentration, and the alcohol could potentially cause corrosion of various soft metals,” he said.

Shaw and others in the ethanol industry are somewhat confused with this new announcement because of what they know about ethanol.

“We know the material compatibility issues,” he said.

Certification from the UL is not required for all products. However, it is so respected that sometimes retailers and inspection authorities require the UL marking, Drengenberg said.

The inspection authorities are the ones who want certified fuel pumps.

“That’s what’s happening with the fuel dispensers – the local authorities having jurisdiction,” he said.

Energy giant BP is paying close attention to the events that are unfolding, said BP spokesperson Valerie Corr.

“BP is tracking this issue very closely, and until Underwriters Laboratories issues a certification for a dispensing system for higher alcohol blended fuels and we have resolved all safety and legal issues, BP is postponing expansion of E85 availability within its retail network,” she said.

Some dispensing system is expected to be approved, and BP will continue with the planned expansion of E85 availability, Corr said.

This announcement by the UL, in the short run, will not have a very large effect on ethanol production, said John Miranowski, professor of economics.

“Right now, there’s not a problem with blending E10 or using E10 in regular gas pumps,” Miranowski said. “So there is significant demand for E10, and that’s where a lot of the blended ethanol goes to.”

The effect this may have in the longer run is that on the expansion of E85, Miranowski said.