Costly Oil Tank Remediation, Many Home Buyers Find Out After Sale in New Jersey!

SOMERSET, N.J. - Dec. 6, 2014 - PRLog -- That new home you purchased may have a beautiful paver walkway, patio or driveway. Under that area may have or had a leaking oil tank. In the 1990's many home owners used unlicensed contrators to remove oil tanks or simply filled oil tanks in place without documentaton. The typical real estate sales contract has a disclosure section for oil tanks, however there is a "Tanks Unknown" box that allows a seller to check a box. Many home buyers have oil tank sweeps completed before puchase . Most of these sweeps are performed using a " Wand Magnetometer instead of a Ground Penetrating Radar unit and may miss a filled place tank. Also if a tank is removed prior with permits, heating oil contaminated soil may be still located on the property that could cause illness from Vapaor Intrusion t the occupants. Purchasing a home without the proper tank removal documentation is a gamble and the chances of purchasing a home with contaminated soils still present are greater 65 % for a home previously heated with oil. Environmental Systems performs oil tank sweeps using Ground Penetrating Radar to look for tanks under concrete and depths geater than 5 feet. Extra cost soil borings are used to identify contaminated soils that could be located on a contaminated property. It has been documented that contaminated soil caused by oil tank leaks over 40 years ago may still be concentrated enough to exceed the New Jerey Department of Environmental Protections current soil standards.

If there is no documentation regarding a former heating oil tank does not mean there was no tank. The house may have been sold numerous times or one of the previous owners may have cut the fill or vent pipes. Environmental Systems recomends that home buyers be cautious and have the Ground Penetrating Radar Scans along with extra cost soil borings. If soil contamination is found the seller is repsonsible for the Clean-Up.

To obtain addition information regarding prepurchase environmental inspections, contact Environmental Systems at 732-892-8707 or visit our website at depenvirosystems.com