Leakage Potential of Underground Storage Tanks

Abstract : Underground storage tanks (USTs) are used to store motor fuel and other hazardous substances throughout the United States. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) estimates there are more than 1.4 million tanks in the country, of which the Army owns some 15,000. Almost 35 percent of them may be leaking. Owners of tanks with capacities greater than 1100 gallons were required to notify the USEPA by May 1986. This information was used to locate and evaluate underground tanks containing petroleum or other hazardous substances. In September 1988, the USEPA published final rules for UST management that cover the technical requirements pertaining to design, installation, testing, and monitoring, as well as clean-up following leaks. The objective of this report is to detail development of the Leak Potential Index (LPI) and present results of an LPI analysis of the Army's UST data bases. The information compiled in this report was obtained by analyzing USEPA data to profile the construction material, capacity, age, and contents of USTs on Army installations.