Do you reside in a house with an underground oil tank, or are you looking to buy or sell a house with one? You’re probably wondering how and where soil tests are conducted.
Because each person’s situation is unique, there is no single answer to this question. When buying or selling a home with an underground oil tank, the soil around the tank is analyzed. When an underground oil tank is abandoned or removed and no documentation or reports are detailing the actions taken to ensure there was no oil leakage, the soil is also analyzed. You can also undertake soil testing if you see an unexpected rise in oil use that is not related to the weather.
Soil testing looks for contamination of heating oil in the soil around the tank or the old tank area. The test is successful in detecting soil contamination caused by a leaky oil tank, a surface spill, or a leaking tank system that has been removed earlier.
You might also wonder how the soil is tested. What is the soil testing procedure?
If you require soil testing, the first step you should take is to call a professional. Soil testing consists of a few steps that must be completed.
As part of the first stage, an expert will be called in to determine the position of any oil tanks that may be present. This would be the location where the greatest amount of oil contamination would be discovered. Depending on where the tank is or was before it was removed, contamination may have spread beyond that area. Soil samples are collected from a variety of sites near the oil tank’s position, down to a depth of approximately one meter below the tank’s bottom. As more samples are collected, the picture of the polluted surface will begin to take shape.
The samples are collected and transferred to a state-certified facility for testing, resulting in a test result that is unbiased and accurate. The unbiased outcome is crucial in order to avoid a conflict of interest on the part of the entity responsible for removing the oil tank, as well as to protect the environment and the public’s health.The soil samples are being tested in the labs to see if they contain any petroleum pollution. The soil testing results could be either positive or negative, depending on the conditions of the test site. If the results of the tests come back negative, there is no reason to be alarmed. If the test results are positive, it means that the ground around your home has been contaminated, which is bad news.
A positive test indicates that soil has been contaminated by an oil tank leak, and the best course of action is to have the contaminated soil removed and then sent to a remediation facility for treatment.
Soil tests can be done with a soil testing kit or by contacting a qualified soil testing lab. You can have the soil tested in a professional lab, but this will likely be expensive. One or two oil pollutants are usually tested in the lab. In a few days, you’ll receive the results, as well as a report on the soil testing.
One of the advantages of conducting a soil test by purchasing a soil testing kit is that you get results in a pretty short time – you get the results in minutes. Also, it is a portable way of testing, which means you could collect as many samples as you would like to test. What is more, it is of low cost compared to a test conducted in a lab – a testing kit has a low price compared to the price you would pay in a lab. Lastly, you have a bigger range of contaminants you could test.
When was the last time you thought it was time to have your soil analyzed? After you see changes in the soil, don’t wait too long to act.
It’s vital to remember that soil testing only reflects the current state of the soil surrounding the tank, or the location where the tank was previously located. If the soil testing results were negative, don’t rely on them for the rest of the time you’ll be using the oil tank. Keep in mind that regular soil testing is critical for preventing tank leaks and contamination of the environment. The subsurface oil tank may be corroding, and a future oil spill may result.
