What Happened
A valued customer recently found an Oil Leak from tank fittings Carrickfergus.
A stain had appeared on the grass near the tank and it looked like a decent amount of oil was missing.
The oil spill from the tank fittings had caused a 250L escape of oil that was threatening to impact the neighbours.
The customer made contact with Gaea at 4pm and requested assistance. Once we assured the home owner that this would e covered by their policy they requested that we attend immediately.
Rush hour traffic was an issue, but we arrived at the property by 5.45pm
Investigation
A soil vapour survey and hand auger survey were used on this project.
The data retrieved from these two methodologies allowed us to accurately determine the precise location and concentrations of the contaminants.
Low level contamination and that presented by soils vapours only could be discounted, reliably ensuring that only work that is required is undertaken.
what we found
The oil had been lost from the fittings at the tank and had significantly impacted the soils surrounding and below the tank.
A ring of contamination existed within three feet of the tank in all directions, but extend further downslope in the direction of the boundary fence with the neighbour.
There was an imminent risk of migration to the neighbour which would have resulted in massively increased costs, third party claims and litigation defence.
An emergency containment trench was excavated and filled with oil absorbants to prevent further migration.
Remedial works
A temporary tank was set up nearby and the contents of the original tank decanted using specialised oil transfer pumps.
The tank base was removed and disposed of to allow access to the underlying impacted fills.
The remaining high risk contamination was removed to clean clay right to the boundary.
Validation
Five soil samples were analysed for speciated TPH CWH.
upon receipt of the analytical results Gaea confirmed that all of the parameters were well below industry thresholds.
A completion report was generated detailing the risks, the work done and how the job was scientifically validated.
Reinstatement
The excavated area was backfilled with aggregated compacted in layers.
A new OFTEC compliant tank base was shuttered, and a new concrete base poured and allowed to set.
Once set, the shuttering was removed and the tank reinstated on its original location where it was reconnected by and OFTEC engineer.
