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How to Use Site History or Home Heating Equipment Records to Find Evidence of Underground Oil Tanks
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• How to find buried oil tanks

This is guide to finding buried oil storage tanks by using site records, oil company delivery notes, as well as visual inspection. This article assists property buyers, owners, and inspectors in the location of buried oil tanks or the detection of evidence that an underground (or even an above ground) oil tank is or was in use at a property. The article and photographs used to show the reader ways to find buried oil tanks include examples of clues leading to the discovery of "nearly hidden" buried or underground oil tanks which were found at residential properties and which avoided very costly surprises later for the new owner. Underground oil storage tanks, or UST's, whether still present or previously removed, involve a risk of costly oil leaks and soil contamination which may need to be addressed.

Here are investigation methods that any home buyer, owner, or home inspector can apply to reduce these risks by looking for evidence that a buried oil tank is or was at a property. Also see Above Ground Oil Tanks: Visual Inspection. © Copyright 2008 Daniel Friedman, All Rights Reserved. Information Accuracy & Bias Pledge is at below-left. Use the links at page left to navigate this document or to go to Other Website Topics. Green links at left show where you are in our document & website.

SITE HISTORY can help determine if buried oil tanks are or have been at a property

Buried Tanks: Look at the property before deciding to hire a tank testing company for professional inspection and testing. You can obtain basic information such as the age (property and tank), tank location, and type of oil tank. From a previous use, a buried oil tank may be present or may have been present at a property even if it is now served by an indoor, above ground oil tank or even by LP or natural gas. So don't assume that because you don't see a tank that none was ever used or present at a property. Make a visual site inspection for clues suggesting that one or more tanks is or was present.

Even an alert home buyer or home inspector, not charged with an environmental site survey (nor paid for one) might discover evidence of very costly buried tank problems at a property, simply by attending certain visual details and thinking about what they mean. For the case of buried oil tanks, the next few photographs show two cases of the discovery of a nearly-hidden outside oil tank fill pipe which led to the discovery of buried oil tanks. These tanks had not been properly abandoned, risking significant cost to the property owner or buyer.

REVIEW OIL TANK HISTORY - Oil Storage Tank History and Tips Assess the Leak Risk

How old is the present oil tank? Tanks approaching 15 to 20 years old have a much greater risk of leaks.

If there is no oil tank at the property now, has the heating fuel been converted from oil to gas?

Do oil companies in the area have records of having delivered oil to the property? If so, the quantity delivered and tank size information will be on file as well as notes about the tank filler pipe location. If the oil company was hired to remove or abandon the oil tank they should have that data as well.

How old is the property? A property more than 30 years old might have had two or more generations of oil tanks at the site. Sometimes local oil delivery companies will check their records of deliveries to a property and can tell you if there were other tanks at other locations at the site.

How many property owners have there been? More owners means a greater chance that a tank was removed or abandoned without the current owners's knowing about it.

If there is currently an oil tank installed, has the tank been kept relatively full in spring and fall? The extra weight helps prevent tank shifting and related piping leaks, and will reduce water in the fuel (can cause loss of heat) from condensation. Again, delivery records can inform this answer, as can testing the tank for water.

Note: these tips are not an oil storage tank installation guide. Proper installation must be done by trained service technicians and must comply with local building codes.

In the author's view (DJF), oil tank testing services and professional environmental inspectors are expected to include both a visual screen of the property for clues such as these, and also a combination of other methods to detect buried oil tanks. Some of these include

• Historical information about the site is collected.
• Oil company records may be checked for indications of deliveries or of prior tank service or removal
• Ground scanning radar may be employed to locate large buried metal objects
• Common sense observation of details, such as the location and placement of oil tank fill and vent piping, if present, can indicate the probable size and type of tanks in some cases.
• Building interior inspection for abandoned oil piping or fuel lines, or patch-marks on foundation walls where such lines may have been removed.
• An examination of the history of the property's heating systems - what equipment has been present, removed, changed.

Use links just below 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.

BURIED TANKS, FIND
  SITE INSPECTION
  SIGNS OF BURIED OIL TANKS here we show photos of outdoor and indoor clues that indicate presence of a UST
  INSPECT THE GROUNDS
  REVIEW TANK HISTORY

More Reading::
ABOVE GROUND OIL TANK INSPECTIONS - "Visual Inspection of Above Ground Residential Heating Oil Storage Tanks - ASTs"
Advanced Home Inspection Methodology - Developing your X-Ray Vision A Promotion Theory for Forensic Observation of Residential Construction. Discussion of methods to accumulate clues to enable the detection of hard-to-find defects on buildings or other complex systems.

Technical Reviewers

Particular thanks are due to experts and also consumers who read these articles and suggest corrections, changes, and additions to the material. Content suggestions, technical corrections and content critique are invited for any of the content at our website.

• Daniel Friedman - principal author/editor of the InspectAPedia ^© Website
• Critique, contributions wanted: Contact Us to suggest text changes and additions and, if you wish, to receive online listing and credit for that contribution

More Information: Buried and Above Ground Oil Storage Tanks References & More Information on USTs

• Oil Tanks - The Oil Storage Tank Information Website: Buried or Above Ground Oil Tank Inspection, Testing, Cleanup, Abandonment of Oil Tanks
• Abandon a Buried Oil Tank, How To - Abandoning Commercial Underground Tanks, Russ Brauksieck, ASHI Tech. Journal, Vol.3 No.1 Spring 1993, P. 40-41 [Reprint]
• Above Ground Oil Tanks: Visual Inspection of Oil Storage Tanks for evidence of leaks, damage, improper piping - photos and text
• Above Ground Oil Tanks Checklist, an Oil Company's advice
• Above Ground Tanks UL Standards, UL Tank Listing Standards, guidance for home owners, buyers, and inspectors
• Buried Oil Tanks - Finding How to Find Buried Oil Tanks and "Nearly Hidden" and Leaky Oil Tanks - photos and text.
• Buried Fuel tank - Advice - Buried FUEL Tank - GAS or OIL advice for home buyers, inspection report language
• Environmental Issues & Regulations for Oil Tanks, Registration, Abandonment, Leak Reporting
• Home Inspection Report Language Library: Buried Oil Tanks, Basic home buyer advice - home inspection report language suggestions
• Home Inspection Report Language Library: Visible Defects in Oil Tank Installations, Tanks, and Heating Oil Piping
• Home Inspection Report Language Library: Gas Fuel Piping or Tank Faults Basic advice - home inspection report language suggestions
• Home Inspection Report Language Library: Oil Tanks text file list © Oil and Other Storage Tank Leaks, Testing, Abandonment, Inspection - UST home inspection report language files - Reference List
• Indoor Environment Website Indoor Building Environmental Hazard Detection, Testing, Repair, & Prevention - Main Web Page
• Leaky Heating Oil Tanks - Advice for Home Owners or Buyers: caused of leaks in oil tanks, oil tank testing alternatives, what to do about leaky tanks: D.J. Friedman, ASHI Tech. Journal, Vol.2 No.1, Winter, 1992 p. 42-43 Illus
• Leak or Failure Rates for Home Heating Oil Tanks
• Legal Issues Regarding Buried Oil Storage Tanks K.S. Rea, Attorney, summary from ASHI Chapter Seminar.
• Primer on Petroleum Bulk Storage Tanks & Petroleum Contamination of Property Paul H. Ciminello, ASHI Tech. Journal, Vol.3 No.1 Spring 1993, p 35-39
• Petroleum Bulk Storage J. Sibblies, NY State DEC, Advice to Home Owners and Home Inspectors about Oil Storage Tanks - summary from ASHI Chapter Seminar.
• Septic Tank inspection, testing, diagnosis, repair
• TANK FAILURE CAUSES - Oil Tank Failure Causes - oil tank leaks are caused by corrosion, damage, soil conditions, other factors
• TANK FAILURE RATES - Oil Tank Failure Rates - Oil Tank Leak Probability as a Function of Tank Age, Location, Condition, Soil Conditions and Other Factors
• TANK TESTING - - How Oil Tanks are Tested for Evidence Leaks, of Current or Previous Oil Spills
• National Association of Oil Heat Service Managers, PO Box 380, Elmwood Park, NJ 07407
• "Homeowners Guide to Fuel Storage," Agway Energy Products, Verbank, NY, November 1990
• Web Link Exchange: Contact Us to list your website or contact information for oil tank testing, tank corrosion research, oil industry experts

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