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Soil Testing Services
Expert
Personnel: Our soil testing personnel have undergone
extensive training & have many years of experience in the soil testing
field. All soil testing personnel strictly adhere to state and
federal guidelines for extracting and testing soil surrounding
underground storage tanks.
Safe & reliable
testing process: Our technicians will locate the buried tank
using special underground storage tank magnetic locators. This
will pinpoint the outline of the tank's structure & identify the area
where soil should be tested.
Samples taken
from all sides of the tank: We advise our clients to
test the soil on all 4 sides of the underground tank. Many times
corroding tanks discharge heating oil from only one side of the metal
tank. If this is the case and soil is tested from the side that is
not leaking- the evaluation will never detect the heating oil
contamination.
We do not rely
solely on field testing soil samples: Simply because field
testing soil at the site is unreliable & extremely susceptible to false
positive readings. This is why all our samples are independently
evaluated by a state certified laboratory. If you are under a strict
deadline- Don't worry! The complete laboratory report can be available
within a few days! We can also rush our samples to meet those tight
deadlines.
Consider our
S.T.E.P.S. soil test: This comprehensive soil test measures
the corrosion rate of the buried tank in addition to identifying
petroleum product in the ground.
Click here to learn more.
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Did you know? |
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Decommissioned underground tanks may have hidden
environmental hazards! |
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Often,
pinhole leaks in tanks are not visible when tanks are inspected in
the ground. These pinholes are virtually invisible against the
dark background of the soil during the town's or tank closure
company's inspection prior to decommissioning the tank.
See the animation above
for a visual illustration .
Advice: If you are having a tank closed in place
and filled with sand/gravel or foam, you should always make sure
soil testing is a part of that process. |
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Soil Testing -Frequently Asked Questions |
The property I am buying has a buried oil tank that was decommissioned.
The tank is filled with sand, gravel or foam and contains no oil.
The seller has provide permits and reports from the town building
inspector stating that the tank was properly abandoned and
decommissioned. Is it still necessary to test the soil surrounding
the tank to determine whether contamination exists?
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If
a seller provides a report from a state certified laboratory stating that the
soil was tested at the time the tank was taken out of service and filled with
sand/gravel or foam, additional soil testing would not be necessary.
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If
the seller cannot provide any written reports about soil testing, you should
evaluate soil as part of your inspection.
In recent months, many
homeowners have discovered soil contamination exists around their buried
abandoned oil tanks that their town or municipality considered properly
decommissioned. These homeowners originally purchased property based
strictly on the municipality or town building inspector's approval and
ignored the fact that soil testing was not performed at the time the
buried tank was backfilled with sand, gravel or foam. Now, these
homeowners are selling their homes and they are providing the buyer with
all the municipality's documents about the buried oil tank on the
property. Since the homeowner provided no documents about
the soil's condition, the buyer tests the soil and discovers high levels
of contamination in the area around the buried tank. Even
though the homeowner has all the supporting documentation from the
municipality, the responsibility for cleaning up the contamination rests
solely with the unsuspecting homeowner. Remember cleanup costs may
range anywhere from $8,000.00 to $100,000.00+.
Don't let this happen to you!
If there is no written report
certifying the soil's condition, make sure you test the soil around any
abandoned or "properly closed" tank before you take possession of the
property.
How
long will it take to receive results of a soil test?
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Our soil
testing units arrive at the job site the next day after your request for
an appointment. Many times we accommodate same day service
requests for clients that are up against contract deadlines. Our
soil testing technicians will need approximately 2 hours to extract the
soil samples from the area around the underground tank. When this is
complete, the technician will transport the samples to a state certified
laboratory. The laboratory will analyze the samples and document
their findings in writing within a few days. When we receive
the laboratory report, we will promptly complete our written analysis
including any recommendations.
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Why aren't the soil
reports available in 24 hours?
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State
environmental agencies are now requiring soil analyses that take a
certified laboratory 48 hours to process. We know that time is
very important in real estate transactions and we will do our best to
rush the samples through the required testing process especially if you
are on a tight deadline.
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Does
soil testing involve removing large amounts of dirt or drilling large
holes next to the underground tank?
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No.
Our soil testing technicians will only need to probe an area about the
size of a half-dollar in diameter. The soil is usually
extracted from an area 6 inches below the base of the underground tank.
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How is
the soil tested if the tank is buried underneath a driveway?
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No special
process is necessary. First our soil testing technician will use a
special ultra-sensitive magnetic detector to map where the underground
tank is located beneath the driveway. The technician then extracts
soil samples from the mapped area on each side of the tank which will
require drilling holes a half-dollar size in diameter. After the
soil is extracted, the technician will use patch to restore and fill-in
the driveway.
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Why is
another testing company willing to perform soil testing at practically
no cost?
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Don't
be fooled by these competitors! These companies are often in
the business of removing underground tanks which is a conflict of
interest. There have been many instances where tank removal
contractors have exaggerated their findings so as to secure a more
lucrative job removing an underground tank or performing soil
remediation. Our company is strictly an environmental testing
company. We do not remove tanks or remediate soil contamination.
If you are in need of a tank removal contractor- our office has a list
of reputable contractors throughout our operating region.
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 Advanced Tank
Services Co.
ATS Environmental
1-800-440-TANK
1-800-440-8265
Our operating region includes: New Jersey (NJ), New York (NY),
Pennsylvania (PA),
Connecticut (CT), Maryland (MD), Delaware (DE) & Massachusetts
(MA)
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Homebuyer Alert |
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Are you buying a home
with a decommissioned underground tank?
Be
careful!
Decommissioned underground tanks may pose substantial environmental
risks even if the town's building inspector has approved the tank
closure. Protect your investment by obtaining an independent
soil test to determine if contamination exists in the surrounding
area.
For
more details about this issue click here.... |
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Soil Testing Alert |
Beware of
testing contractors claiming to have soil testing laboratories onboard
their truck! This
is a false claim. Truck mounted laboratories do not exist! These
contractors are doing nothing more than smelling (sniff testing)
each soil sample for petroleum. Does this sound reliable?
Certainly not! ATS uses only state certified laboratories which
issue official certified laboratory reports.
Be suspicious of tank removal contractors
offering "low-cost" soil testing services! If a company offers
tank removal/soil remediation services in addition to soil testing- this
is a conflict of interest.
Testing & evaluations- that's all we do! Many
attorneys recommend our company for soil evaluations for this reason.
We only offer environmental testing services & have no financial
interest in performing removal or remediation services that may
influence our soil testing findings.
1-800-440-TANK
1-800-440-8265
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