From: John De Armond
Newsgroups: misc.rural,alt.home.repair
Subject: Re: Propane Tank Location?
Date: Fri, 30 Sep 2005 12:30:01 -0400
Message-ID: <2ppqj1h5hh3a1nqdjcaa4esd1f5072ui46@4ax.com>

On 30 Sep 2005 14:34:10 GMT, Dave Hinz <DaveHinz@spamcop.net> wrote:


>Maybe, but direct soil contact will rust a tank a lot faster than just
>being out in the atmosphere.  And, braindead lawmakers being what they
>are, probably can't differentiate between this fuel and other fuel
>tanks.

Tanks designed for burial are coated with a very thick, probably half
inch, coating of asphalt.  Such coated tanks do not rust.  Burying
propane tanks has been around at least since I was a kid, for I recall
seeing them.  I imagine they have this coating thing pretty well
figured out by now.

FWIW, they recently dug up some est 80 year old asphalted gas tanks
from an abandoned gas station across the street.   The tanks were in
perfect condition and still contained some probably 30 year old
gasoline.  No rust inside or out.  It seemed such a shame to cut them
up and haul them away.

John

From: John De Armond
Newsgroups: misc.rural,alt.home.repair
Subject: Re: Propane Tank Location?
Date: Fri, 30 Sep 2005 15:20:51 -0400
Message-ID: <rl3rj1151vghnmlqaea8j0n16vm98hptd1@4ax.com>

On 30 Sep 2005 17:27:44 GMT, Dave Hinz <DaveHinz@spamcop.net> wrote:


>> FWIW, they recently dug up some est 80 year old asphalted gas tanks
>> from an abandoned gas station across the street.   The tanks were in
>> perfect condition and still contained some probably 30 year old
>> gasoline.  No rust inside or out.  It seemed such a shame to cut them
>> up and haul them away.
>
>And yet, no doubt, by some law it was required, am I right?  I mean, why
>actually test for real problems when you can just pass sweeping
>generalizations and all that?

As usual, EPA.  They require disturbing tanks that are not leaking
just to say that they've been removed from the ground.  If someone
decided that something just had to be done as a symbolic gesture,
cutting a hole in the tank and filling it with soil would inert the
tank and preclude any possibility of a cave-in.  But that's not good
enough.  According to the project manager when I asked this question,
the tank has to be dug up, cut up and disposed of and photos submitted
to the EPA.  Madness.

Even if they've been leaking, it makes no sense to disturb something
that has been buried for decades and are not contaminating things.
That's what happened to the station adjacent to this one.  The station
closed in the 60s.  Several tanks had leaked but the fuel had not
migrated beyond a few feet from the tank as evidenced by core
drilling.

They still had to dig up the tanks AND the "contaminated" soil before
the property could be sold.  It cost over $60k for that meaningless
endeavor.

John