American Petroleum Institute

The Migration of Petroleum Products in Soil and Ground Water PRINCIPLES AND COUNTERMEASURES - Reprinted in 1986
 N PUBL 4149

Annotation

INTRODUCTION

The American Petroleum Institute has prepared this report to provide both theoretical background and general operating procedures for persons who may at some point be required to deal with oil spilled on land. The report is designed for the man in the field; the reader who wants more detail will find a number of references cited.

Despite the extensive preventive measures taken by the petroleum industry and others, petroleum and petroleum products do escape on land from time to time. When they do so, rapid and informed action may be required to minimize fire and explosion hazards and to prevent or minimize contamination of soil and ground water.

The action taken will benefit from some son of contingency plan, since the people on the scene must react rapidly to a spill. This is especially so in the initial stales. when the extent of the contamination and the potential hazards may not yet be clear. Hydrocarbons can escape to the environment in such a variety of circumstances. however, that no plan can cover them all. Thus the man OD the scene must have sufficient background to be able to assess with some knowledge the situation that be faces and to sell the most effective courses of action.

To provide that background, this report considers both principles and practice each of six broad aspects of the problem.

• Fire hazards and safety procedures.

• Migration of oil products in soil and ground water.

• Recovery and control of spilled oil.

• Methods, of identifying oil products.