Underground storage tank failure & loss of fuel at petrol station

Remediation

When a client discovered the loss of some 900 litres of fuel while upgrading old tanks at one of their active petrol filling sites, EPS assisted by swiftly investigating the extent of the spill, installing the most appropriate remediation scheme for the site and ultimately avoiding a significant pollution incident in an extremely environmentally sensitive location.

Project: Investigation of the fate of a large quantity of lost fuel at a petrol filling station, including regulatory liaison, and design and installation of a suitable remediation scheme.

Nature of site: A petrol filling station located on an environmentally sensitive site (Chalk aquifer) with a drinking water extraction point close by.

Scope: Initial investigations included deep boreholes to determine where the lost fuel had migrated (to depths of more than 65m below the ground surface as fuel was migrating vertically down through joints and fractures in the underlying Chalk aquifer). Advised client as the incident developed over the very busy Christmas holiday period, led negotiations with the regulators on all aspects of work and carried out the environmental investigations in order to select the most suitable remediation solution for the site. Design and installation of Soil Vapour Extraction (SVE) remediation system, which works by drawing air rapidly from targeted depths in the impacted ground to evaporate off the contamination while also pulling clean air through the ground to promote natural degradation.

Client: National petrol retailer