Environment Agency Press Release June 2006.
“Homeowners warned over domestic oil tank usage”
The Environment Agency report that oil from domestic sources is the most frequently identified source of oil pollution. There are an estimated 1 million domestic storage tanks in use but many do not have a bunding system in place (bunding is now usually integral to the storage tank).
The press release states that some insurance policies will only pay out when oil damages the house or any adjacent property. When a spill is contained within the garden, the homeowner is left to foot the clean-up bill.
Fines are applicable to situations where oil contaminates drinking water supplies (limit £20,000); leaving an oil spill to self remediate may not be a sensible option. The report continues:
“It would only take one litre of oil to contaminate one million litres of drinking water if it entered a water source and so the Environment Agency is urging homeowners to be more aware,”
Comment
According to Journal of Applied Microbiology 100 (2006) 325–333 the potential for bio remediation of diesel oil is a practical albeit rather slow reality. The cost of this method of remediation could be very low indeed.