June 21, 2005 -- The building manager showed his concern in the tone of his voice when he called. The 10,000 gallon heating oil tank in the basement of the Federal building his company managed for the GSA was emitting a strong odor of fuel oil throughout the building basement and some parts of the upper floors. The concern was that the tank, situated in a walled off area and installed when the building was built decades ago, may be leaking oil.
“ Allowed to grow, these corrosion permeations can go from a minor weeping to a quarter inch hole if not addressed. ”
This call was one of hundreds of calls received yearly by AmTech Tank Lining and Tank Repair, a company that specializes in providing services to tank owners from coast to coast. Their customer list includes major oil companies such as ExxonMobil, Sunoco, Shell and Hess as well as national companies such as Procter and Gamble and Navistar.
Jeff Colner, VP of operations for AmTech, reports, “Many of these older fuel oil tanks are partially or fully buried or sealed and releases of oil can’t be detected by odor. Many times it’s not until ground contamination is discovered or a minor permeation grows into a major leak, that the problem is detected.”
Colner continued, "Most of these oil tanks were installed at the time the buildings were built in the 1940's, 1950's and 1960's and they are much larger than doors, stairs and hallways connecting their location to the outside, making it almost impossible to remove and replace them intact. With age these tanks can prevent serious problems. New technologies now make it easy and cost efficient to refurbish these tanks in place, saving thousands of dollars in replacement costs and virtually eliminating potential pollution problems.”
Colner is a veteran with steel tanks and their problems. Amtech Tank Lining and Tank Repair deals with the problems inherent to older gasoline, fuel oil and chemical storage tanks. With state of the art equipment and materials, he and his associates go right inside steel tanks, abrasive blasting, repairing and then virtually making a fiberglass and plastic tank on the interior of the older steel tank.
He added, “Corrosion is a funny animal, and the overall structural integrity of most of the steel tanks we examine is almost as good as the day it was installed. The problems come from isolated corrosion cells making minute permeations through the steel shell of the tank. Allowed to grow, these corrosion permeations can go from a minor weeping to a quarter inch hole if not addressed. A lot of oil can escape from a small hole, and it doesn’t take a tanker load to cause a pollution problem.”
Colner explained, “The refurbishing is sort of like a tank in a tank approach. The fiberglass and plastic lining we fabricate inside the steel tank adds an additional structural wall and is not subject to corrosion. The abrasive blasting process conditions the interior steel tank wall before we add the fiberglass and plastic. This helps guard against future internal corrosion problems.”
When asked about what the long-term effect of a leaking tank and the environmental cleanup process, he responded, “We don’t do environmental studies or cleanups, so I wouldn’t comment about that. It’s our job to find minor problems, or situations before they become problems, and remedy them, before you get to the point of needing environmental services.” He continued, “What we do isn’t rocket science, it’s just good, sound engineering process.”
AmTech Tank Lining and Tank Repair operates across the country, and is a member of the Armor Shield Lining network of a dozen nationwide applicator locations. The network has lined and repaired over 100,000 tanks since 1967. Call the AmTech Hotline at (888) 839-0373 for immediate information or visit the Amtech Tank Lining website at www.amtechtanklining.com.
Contact:
Jeff Colner
888 839-0373
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