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OIL TANK HOME ABOVE GROUND OIL TANK INSPECTIONS BURIED OIL TANK ADVICE BURIED OIL TANKS, FINDING FLOATING UP OIL STORAGE or SEPTIC TANKS FUEL OIL TYPES & CHARACTERISTICS HEATING OIL EXPOSURE HAZARDS, LIMITS OIL TANK ABANDONING PROCEDURE OIL TANK FAILURE CAUSES OIL TANK FAILURE RATES Oil Tank Leak Rates In New England Oil Tank Leaks in News Media Oil Tank Leak Rates Reported in Real Estate Oil Storage Tank Leak Reports by Europeans Oil Tank Failure Mechanisms OIL TANK GAUGES OIL TANK INSPECTION REPORTS OIL TANK LEGAL ISSUES OIL TANK LEAK ADVICE OIL TANK LIFE OIL TANK PIPING DEFECTS OIL TANK PRESSURE OIL TANK REMOVAL COs OIL TANK REMOVAL FINANCIAL AID OIL TANK REGULATIONS OIL TANK SLUDGE OIL TANK STANDARDS OIL TANK TESTING OIL TANK TESTING COs OIL TANK WATER CONTAMINATION More Information  InspectAPedia ® Home & Site Map InspectAPedia Blog - News Updates Air Conditioning & Heat Pumps Bookstore Electrical Environment Exteriors Heating Home Inspection Insulate Ventilate Interiors Mold Inspect/Test Plumbing Water Septic Roofing Structure Accuracy & Privacy Policies Contact Us |
This document discusses oil tank leaks or oil storage tank failure rates as a function of oil storage tank age, the oil tank location (indoors, outdoors above ground, buried outdoors, oil tank condition, and for buried oil tanks, the soil conditions. Steel oil storage tanks, especially if buried and 15-20 years old or older are at a significant risk causing costly oil leaks and risking environmental damage. Since significant costs are involved in oil tank replacement and in cleaning up oil-contaminated soils or building materials, testing and inspection are appropriate when one is buying or evaluating a property where tanks are installed. Contact us to suggest text changes and additions and, if you wish, to receive online listing and credit for that contribution. © Copyright 2010 Daniel Friedman, All Rights Reserved. Information Accuracy & Bias Pledge is at below-left. Use links at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website. OIL TANK FAILURE RATES - Buried Oil Tank Failure DataOil Tank Leak Rates In New EnglandIn New England, for a two year period [1984-5] among customers who have buried heating oil tanks (16% of total customers) surveyors found an average of 1.7 oil tank leaks per thousand customers. The researchers studying these oil tank leak rates also found 2.5 fuel line leaks per 1000 oil heating customers. These oil tank leak rates were reported in Fuel Oil and Oil Heat magazine, August 1985 p.18. Regrettably that oil heating industry publication appears to have removed the article from circulation or from online resources. We do not have similar data for buried gas tanks in residential application.Oil and Heating Industry opinions on fuel storage tank life vary, but most would agree that a fuel storage tank which is 15-20 years old is at significant risk of leakage. If your property has a buried oil tank of this age, particularly if it is a steel tank (which is likely at that age) the leak risk is high and you should investigate further (see links at page left). If an older steel buried oil tank has not already leaked, you should plan to replace it promptly, either with a newer leak-resistant or multi-walled buried oil tank or with an above ground oil tank placed in a suitable location. Oil Tank Leaks in Other News Media ReportsNews media reportage of oil tank leaks has suggested significant contamination issues in some parts of the U.S., particularly where the aquifer is common and prone to widespread movement of contaminants leaked onto or into the ground. "Almost 10,000 gasoline and oil spills, some of them more than a decade old, are contaminating the underground aquifers that supply drinking water to Long Island and southeast Queens even as state environmental officials aren't enforcing laws that call for complete cleanups." The article continues to site gas stations as a buried leaky petroleum product storage tank primary offender, and warns that private wells are at particular risk of dangerous contamination. [Newsday, Dan Fagin, August 23, 1998, http://www.junkscience.com/news3/nylirbca.htm] We have indeed had occasional reports of private wells and water supplies being contaminated by leaky gas station fuel tanks, and one instance was reported [privately] of a private well and local ground water contamianted by an owner who dumped waste oil into what s/he thought was an "abandoned water well". Never ever use an abandoned well or even a septic system to dispose of unwanted oils or other chemicals. Oil Tank Leak Rates Reported in Real Estate PublicationsReal Estate Publications, while reluctant to scare home owners and buyers by aggressive reporting on leaky oil tanks (which can involve a very large cleanup expense), also cite the concern for leaking oil tanks. "Statistics indicate as many as 25% of all Underground storage tanks (USTs) may now be leaking. These underground tanks may hold oil or gas but can most frequently be found at homes heated with oil. Over time, there is a tendency for these older tanks to corrode and leak their contents into the ground and possibly into the ground water. Because of the great expense involved in cleaning up the contamination caused by leaking tanks, it behooves those that have older underground tanks, to have them or the soil tested." [This article, at a website published by a Maryland real estate firm, has appeared on numerous websites. The original source and basis of statistics were not cited in the article. http://www.soldbyteresa.com/information_center/article_archive/buried_oil_tanks.dwt 4/27/06] Heating Oil Storage Tank Reports by European StudiesEuropean studies of oil tank leak rates have confirmed that the risk of buried (steel) oil tank leaks increase significantly when tanks are about 20 years old. [Norway Clean Oslo Fjord project and references cited above.] However leaks can occur even when a tank is brand new if the tank is damaged during installation or if its piping is not correctly installed. Smaller leaks or spills around oil tanks may occur during tank fill operations. For an interesting non-residential study of oil tank leaks, see Leak History, 200 Area Tank Farms. See Tank Survey, Nuclear, Westinghouse Hanford to participate in an interesting non-residential study. Fuel or Heating Oil Storage Tank Failure MechanismsThe causes of oil tank leaks or tank failures are discussed briefly at OIL TANK FAILURE MECHANISMS - "Buried fuel oil tanks, oil or gas, basic advice for home owners and home buyers, home inspection report language", which lists the most-common causes of oil leaks in above ground or buried oil storage tanks. OIL TANK FAILURE CAUSES provides the details of the common mechanisms leading to buried or above ground oil storage tank leaks and failure. Share this Article
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