Underground Oil Tank Leak

While possible the odds are that an underground tank 10 or 15 years old probably is not leaking.

Underground oil tank leak.

A typical leaking underground storage tank lust scenario involves the release of a fuel product from an underground storage tank ust that can contaminate surrounding soil groundwater or surface waters or affect indoor air spaces. Approximately 542 000 underground storage tanks usts nationwide store petroleum or hazardous substances. When an oil tank leaks it normally starts with a pinhole size opening which allows oil to escape and impact the soils around the tank. First if your oil tank sprouts a leak the cost of cleaning the contaminated soil and water can stretch into thousands of dollars.

As the leading authority for oil tank removal in montgomery county professional tank environmental is all too familiar with the implications of a leaking underground oil tank just because the root of such a problem is buried deep underground that does not mean the issue will stay there. An oil tank leak usually refers to the escape of petroleum from a buried tank. Oil tank leaks refers to the uncontrolled release of oil from an oil storage tank. The greatest potential threat from a leaking ust is contamination of groundwater the source of drinking water for nearly half of all americans.

It is relatively easy to detect an indoor oil tank leak. In some cases water may leak into the tank or the leak may occur only when the tank is full thus hiding the problem from the homeowner. The cost of cleaning up a leak from an underground oil tank ranges from thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars depending on how much contamination has occurred and the worst part is there s a good chance your homeowner s insurance won t cover any of the costs. The selection of a remedial solution is optimized to consider the oil and hazardous materials present.

If you smell oil and you see it on the floor near or beneath the tank during a visual inspection you know you have a leak. Risks of buried oil tanks. Outdoor oil tank leak. Underground tanks are designed to hold 250 to 1 000 gallons of heating oil based on the tank size.

If your neighbor s well or water supply becomes contaminated there is an oil tank leak affecting the water table. The risks of an underground oil tank range from environmental and legal to financial and health related. Indoor oil tank leak. Insurance may only cover a portion of these costs further increasing your risk.

Typical residential oil tank sizes range from 275 290 to 500 or 1000 gallons in capacity. Unfortunately there is no way to know for absolute certain if you have a leak without digging up your oil tank and inspecting it. If you have an underground heating oil tank you are probably concerned about oil tank leaks.