Heating oil, normally kerosene, is harmful when it isn’t safely contained. It can pollute water; kill wildlife and plants; damage building structures; and produce vapours that can be damaging to your health

Oil can be harmful to people, animals and to the environment as it contains high levels of chemicals which have an adverse effect on human health and the ecology. Health symptoms can include drowsiness, nausea, vomiting and general feelings of lethargy. The most important thing to remember is that the quicker you get Enviroleak to site, the quicker you limit further damage to your families’ health, your home and the environment. You should never touch the oil if possible, but the safest thing to do is to immediately phone our team of experts who will swiftly solve the problem for you.

Breathing in oil fumes and vapours in an enclosed can cause some short-term symptoms. At high concentrations (like those in large spill situations), symptoms can include nausea, dizziness, and eye, nose, or throat irritation.

Getting fuel oil on the skin can cause skin irritation and sensitivity. Some people may be more sensitive to these effects than others. Even at low concentrations, the strong odour of oil can still make many people feel ill. Getting fresh air will usually help relieve these symptoms.

Very long-term exposure to oil odours in the home (exposure for many years) has the potential for more serious health problems. These include liver and kidney damage, increased blood pressure, other blood problems, and cancer. A simple “rule of thumb” is if you can smell oil, there is an exposure risk.

Oil contamination can be dangerous if the oil contamination is ingested or comes into contact with your skin. The vapours released inside your home from an oil spill can be damaging to your health depending on the concentrations. Exposure to low level kerosene vapours can irritate the mucous membrane, cause headaches and nausea and can slow down your reaction times. Prolonged exposure to high level vapours can be very damaging and asthmatics, children and the elderly can suffer more adverse reactions.

Unfortunately, the answer is yes. As oil spills often occur along the pipes between your cooker or boiler and your oil storage tank, the oil will immediately seep down into the foundations of your home. Because of the porous nature of the materials used to construct your home, this means that the oil can penetrate the blocks and concrete structure including timber beams etc. which can in turn lead to very extensive structural repairs. In some cases, we have reported oil saturated foundation blocks that have crumbled. Also oil contamination beside and beneath buildings can result in oil odours inside the building that can persist for many years if the contamination is not cleaned up.

This is an area where Enviroleak expertise is important as their team of specialists will ensure that your home is restored to its original state as soon as possible and, most importantly, ensure that the spill is completely remediated with no oil residue existing in or around your home.

If an oil leak in house is left untreated, oil, diesel or kerosene can have long terms effects on concrete foundations, floors or walls of a property.

Home oil tank leaks can pose a significant risk of contamination to the subsoil, subfloors, and can cause noxious smells which are harmful if left untreated. Furthermore, issues can present dependent on the gradient of the site or your property which can contribute to the migration of the oil leak, for which a home-owner can be held liable.

Oil fumes can penetrate carpets and soft furnishings, which may not be possible to salvage. Your insurance policy cover should allow for a full and thorough clean-up, which is completely necessary to prevent further problems that commonly arise with oil leaks.

The first thing for you to think about, “is it safe?” If you are concerned about safety, phone us immediately and we can advise you on best next steps

Here are a few quick fixes which may help reduce the damage caused:

Solution 1: Turn off the source- Find the tank, find the outlet(s), all should be fitted with a stop tap, twist the tap until it closes and stops the flow. If possible collect the oil in any available containers e.g. bins, or restrict the movement of the oil as best and safely as possible.

Solution 2: The tank is leaking- Decant(transfer) oil into a suitable container to below the level of the leak.

Solution 3: Repair the leak temporarily. SOAP is often a good temporary solution, especially for oil tanks, push some solid soap into the crack, apply it as if you were grating cheese, push the soap across the crack forcing soap to block the gap and stop the leak. Solid soap bar only, don’t use liquid soap.

A final tip - cat litter or saw dust can be pretty good at absorbing oil

If you suspect an oil leak at your home, you should act quickly. Don’t put off taking action or assume the problem will go away. The quicker the leak can be dealt with the less oil will be lost and further damage can be minimised. 

Contact Enviroleak immediately.

Then:

1. If there’s a strong smell of oil in your home, ventilate the area by opening windows and doors.
2. Keep children and pets away from any spills.
3. Avoid getting oil on your skin and clothing.
4. Wash your hands and don’t smoke, eat or drink when or after you are in contact with the oil.
5. Switch off your oil supply at the tank.
6. Try to find out where the leak is coming from.
7. Immediately, try to stop it at the source - put a bucket under dripping oil to catch it (don’t use containers that will be used to store food for humans or animals).
8. Prevent spilled oil from spreading and, in particular, prevent it from getting into drains and waterways - you can use absorbing material such as earth, sand, cat litter or commercial products.
9. If there’s an ongoing leak from the tank, try to stem the flow - you may be able to use sealant to temporarily repair a metal tank; for plastic tanks, try rubbing a bar of soft soap into the split.
10. Try to work out how much oil has been lost; check the level on the tank and think about how much you use and when you last had a deliver.
11. Never use detergents or a hose to wash the spill away.
12. Store anything with oil on it, or soaked into it, in containers that don’t leak until it can be correctly and legally disposed of.

Domestic heating oil leaks can be sudden or can happen slowly over a period of time and with home heating oil they are usually related to the tank, the boiler or the valves and the supply line. As most domestic heating oil tanks are located in the garden or outdoor areas, there can be potential for damage to the environment.

If you discover a leak or spill from your home heating oil tank, it is important that you deal with it as quickly as possible to minimise damage to your home and avoid damage to the environment.

Here are some tips to help if you detect a leak or spill:

• Turn off the stop tap at the source to prevent any further flow.
• Call Enviroleak and our expert team will give you advice on what to you and within minutes we can have an engineer on the road to check the site, if required
• Prevent the spill from entering nearby ground water such as drains, rivers or soaking into the ground by using sand or soil to absorb the heating oil.
• Try to establish how much oil has been lost by checking the level on the tank and thinking about usage and when you last had a delivery. This may be useful help establish the extent of the leak.
• If the leak is the coming from a broken seal on a plastic tank you may be able to initiate a temporary repair on the seal by rubbing some solid soap into the area that has broken. Rub the soap over the area repeatedly and soap will stick in the cracks.
• Don’t try washing away the leak with detergent or water as this can make the problem worse and could lead to the oil entering nearby ground water.
   

For advice on this contact Enviroleak.
Our trained staff will advise you on your situation

The main things to look out for are evidence of staining (dampness) or vegetation die-back around your oil tank and boiler unit; oil odours inside your house; greater than expected oil usage (the oil runs out unexpectedly); weeping or drips from the pipework at the boiler and oil tank and the filter bowl and fire valve; strong oil odours from the base of the oil tank; stronger than normal oil odours inside the boiler shed.

Oil contamination at a residential or indeed commercial property can spread if the oil leak occurred next to a building or underground pipes. If the oil contamination spreads and you were aware of the oil leak at the time, then your insurance company could choose not to cover you if you fail to act in a reasonable timeframe. The quicker you react the easier the resolution. Once you discover the oil leak, call Enviroleak and we can advise you on how best to proceed. If required, we can have a site engineer on the road in minute to do an initial site investigation and advise/set up emergency works immediately.

An oil tank or boiler can leak due to:

• Failure of the tank body due to age
• Overexposure to sunshine
• Damage to equipment on the tank such as sight gauges
• Damage to or wear-and-tear of fuel feed lines
• Failure of components at the boiler end of the system, such as flexible hoses
• Metal tanks can rust through, often at their bases. Plastic tanks can split due to inherent defect, age or wear-and-tear. Oil spills can happen when oil is delivered.

To help avoid an oil spill happening again, our engineer will give advice on-site on preventative actions you can take and early warning signs.

It is the process of removing or treating contaminated soil, groundwater, surface water and air from oil that has leaked into the ground, returning the site to its original condition protecting human health, the environment and restoring your property.

Bioremediation is the process through which environmentally harmful contaminants are converted into non-toxic compounds. This process is performed by locally occurring micro-organisms. The microbes generate enzymes and it is the enzymes that break down the hydrocarbons into their constituent parts. The enzymes created by the organisms will break down petroleum hydrocarbons and convert them to carbon dioxide (CO2) & water (H2O).

After a scientific investigation in certain circumstances, bioremediation may be a feasible treatment, or it may be required after full remediation. Our engineers and environmental scientists will advise dependent on the situation.

Bioremediation is a natural process – it is nature’s way of dealing with contamination problems. The following are a few of the advantages & reasons why you should consider this innovative process:

The process is an ecologically safe and natural process. It is nature’s way of solving contamination problems.

Bioremediation can be cost-effective.

Bioremediation causes little or no disruption to the surrounding, non-contaminated areas.

With this process, it is possible to remediate areas that are not easily accessible or are inaccessible to other technologies.

Bioremediation is a non-invasive process and air quality and air pollution concerns from volatile chemical evaporation are eliminated.

After bioremediation is completed, the environment is virtually restored to its pristine condition.