Underground Storage Tanks—Cleaning Up Sites and Preventing New Leaks

摘要

In 1984, the federal government took the first steps toward protecting U.S. groundwater resources from leaking underground storage tank (USTs). At that time, it was estimated that more than 2 million USTs were storing petroleum and hazardous substances across the United States. Leaks from these tanks contaminated the soil and groundwater, but often went unnoticed until water supplies were impacted. To address this threat, EPA established a regulatory program that requires UST owners/operators to 1) prevent, detect, and clean up leaks; and 2) upgrade or close substandard tanks. Since the UST program began, more than 1.5 million tanks have been closed, and most of the approximately 700,000 petroleum and hazardous substance USTs in use today are new, or have been upgraded to meet strict standards.