The presense of fuel oil tanks – cause to investigate further.

It is just a fact of life that fuel oil tanks inherently leak. That is why there are standards imposed which govern not only the manufacture and installation of fuel oil tanks but the maintenance and removal. A reasonable person would assume if a fuel oil tank is new or fairly new there is nothing to be concerned about.

Not so in the opinion of Madam Justice Healey in a decision out of Bracebridge. This decision involves a fuel tank which leaked after less than 5 months of use. The tank was manufactured to be in service for 10 years and even had a five year warranty. The cause it was discovered was a phenomenon known in the industry as microbally induced/influenced corrosion. In lay man’s terms a small hole developed in the bottom of the tank due to internal corrosion. The expert evidence accepted by Justice Healey was that this could have been avoided if the tank were coated inside at an approximate cost of $150.00. Justice Healey stated “that on a cost benefit analysis it is difficult to justify avoiding such cost for protection of the environment.”

Read the full summary and link to this case in our March 2012 newsletter by clicking here.

If you have any questions about this article, I invite you to contact me at shari@elliottlawyers.com.

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