Soil Testing for Oil Tanks
Find clues of a possible oil tank leak.
When should you have the soil tested around an underground oil tank?
- When you are buying or selling a home with a heating oil tank.
- An underground oil tank was abandoned or removed and there are no documents outlining any steps taken to assure there was no oil leakage.
- You notice a sudden increase in heating oil consumption not due to the weather.
Soil testing examines the soil around the tank or the former tank area for contamination of heating oil. The test is effective in identifying soil contamination resulting from a leaking oil tank, a surface spill, or a previously removed leaking tank system.
Soil testing includes the following steps:
- Locating where the oil tank is situated.
- Soil borings are collected from several areas around the oil tank and to a depth just past the level of the tank bottom.
- The soil boring samples are then sent to a state certified testing lab for analysis for an unbiased and accurate test result.
- The soil samples are tested for petroleum product contamination.
- A report of our findings will be provided to you within seven days of testing.
- When timing is tight we can provide results within three days.
- We will explain what the results mean and what further action should be taken if needed.
We will prepare a detailed report based on the results including any further action that may be required. Soil testing is considered the definitive test for oil tank leakage, and if the tank has not leaked, it provides more reliable documentation of this.
Note, that soil testing only reflects the current state of the soil surrounding the oil tank and not the tank itself. The underground oil tank could be corroding and form an oil leak in the future.