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Check your Oil Tank warns the Environment Agency
28th April 2009
As Summer approaches and central heating is switched off, the Environment Agency is urging homeowners to inspect their Heating Oil Storage Tanks.
Whilst recent years have seen a significant reduction in the number of oil spills, even a small spillage can prove damaging - both environmentally and financially. Oil can damage plants and wildlife and can make soil infertile, destroying habitats.
Environment Management Team Leader Peter Stark said, 'Routine maintenance of domestic oil storage tanks is important. People tend to forget them but, like cars, they need basic maintenance checks.'
Homeowners should take the following action to ensure their oil tanks are safe for use:
- Situate tanks as far away as possible from drains, streams and ponds. Preference should always be given to storing oil in an integrally bunded tank. Consisting of a 'tank within a tank', the inner tank is used as the primary fuel store, with the outer tank acting as a failsafe in the event of a spill. Bunded tanks are now a legal requirement at the vast majority of new and replacement oil heating installations across the United Kingdom.
- Inspect your tank, pipes and other equipment for leaks, damage and interference once a week
- Check your home insurance - you may not be covered for loss of oil or pollution clean-up costs. The Environment Agency also recommends that homeowners and householders should always notify insurers immediately in the event of a spill or suspected spill
Homeowners are advised also to ensure compliance with supplied product instructions - which often require installation and maintenance in accordance with either British Standard BS5410 and / or the requirements of The Oil Firing Technical Association, OFTEC. Installation and maintenance documentation should always be retained for future reference.
The Environment Agency recommends that when re-filling the tank, it is important to supervise the fuel delivery and then record how much oil is being used. This means homeowners and householders will be able to identify leaks quickly, minimising environmental damage and financial costs. Leaks can occur unseen from underground feed lines and can only be detected by checking there is no excessive usage, before major contamination occurs.
Peter said, 'Pollution prevention is better than trying to deal with an accident, which can result in enforcement action against the owner of the tank in addition to the costs of cleaning up the spilt oil.'
Details of suitably qualified, competent, oil heating technicians who can undertake system checks can be found by contacting either the Association of Plumbing & Heating Contractors or The Oil Firing Technical Association (OFTEC).
