The contaminated-gasoline problem with which some Butler County motorists have been faced points to the need for Pennsylvania to get in step with the 46 states that have fuel-quality laws.

If the Keystone State had such a system in place, it would be easier for officials to track down the source of contaminated fuel than the current lack of fuel-quality laws allows.

Industry officials say fuels are checked at refineries and terminals frequently for foreign substances, water and bacteria. However, what has been occurring since March points to the need for an additional safeguard.

Motorists victimized by contaminated fuel have been paying a hefty price in most instances to get their vehicles repaired - and vehicle warranties don't cover the damage.

The situation points to the need for motorists to obtain receipts when they buy gasoline so they can track the source of bad fuel, if they fall victim to any. Officials also recommend avoiding gasoline stations where storage tanks are in the process of being refilled, getting a vehicle inspected quickly if it feels like it is losing power, and not allowing vehicle fuel tanks to drop below one-quarter full.

But even with such logical precautions being employed, Pennsylvania should implement fuel quality laws that carry stiff fines if not obeyed. Part of such laws could be fuel-quality guidelines established by the American Society for Testing and Materials, which is a body of volunteer government and industry workers.

So far, in addition to Butler County, contaminated-gasoline problems have surfaced in Allegheny, Clarion, Forest, Lawrence and Venango counties. There also have been similar troubling reports involving West Virginia motorists.

West Virginia officials are unhappy about the failure of Pennsylvania and Ohio to address fuel quality because it makes their task of tracking down bad fuels more difficult, if not impossible, if the problem originates in one of those two other states.

"If this problem had originated in West Virginia or Maryland, we would have figured it out four weeks ago," said Dennis Harrison, program director for fuel-quality testing at the West Virginia Division of Labor's Office of Weights and Measures. Harrison said West Viriginia inspectors began collecting fuel samples after receiving calls from repair shops.

In addition to Pennsylvania and Ohio, the other two states without fuel-quality laws are Alaska and Nebraska.

In the current contaminated-gasoline scenario, the culprit is a mysterious white, powdery residue that has been described as a type of calcium buildup. Others have described the problem as a grayish-looking material.

In either of those forms, appearances or stages of doing their damage, fuel filters have been clogged and fuel pumps have been damaged. The cleaning of vehicle components affected by the gasoline has been a time-consuming, costly process.

Pennsylvania needs to be in a position to step down hard on sellers of contaminated fuel, especially intentionally contaminated fuel, aimed at upping profits. With strict laws in effect, the incentive will exist for gasoline sellers to more closely monitor what they sell.

This is not an issue that should wait until a non-election year.

- J.R.K.