What does the abandonment of an underground oil tank involve?
In order to abandon an underground storage tank, the tank is first uncovered, rendered free of ignitable vapors and cut open. The tank is then entered by a technician and cleaned of all remaining fuel and residue. The technician visually inspects the tank for breaches. Soil may also be extracted from the perimeter of the underground storage tank by means of cutting a hole in the bottom of the underground storage tank and extracting soil samples or by “geoprobing” around the tank from the surface. If there is no sign of soil contamination, the tank is then filled with an inert material i.e. sand, kcrete/slurry or foam and rough graded over.
