Free Educational Video Available on Home Heating Oil Spills
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Immediate Release
July 16, 2012

 

Batavia, Ohio.  The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (OEPA) investigates around 50 home heating oil spills each year; these spills can be costly to the homeowner and can cause widespread damage to the environment.  The Clermont County Local Emergency Planning Agency (LEPC), in cooperation with the OEPA and the Clermont County Office of Public Information has produced an educational video about the situation called What Every Home Heating Oil Customer Needs to Know.  The video is available, free of charge, on the website www.clermontcountyohio.gov/video052012heating.aspx.

 

Improper tank maintenance is the number one reason that spills happen.  People move or abandon tanks, the tanks corrode, and the remaining oil seeps out into the ground and nearby lakes and streams.  These spills can cause fish kills, and make livestock that drink out of the streams and kids that play in the streams sick.

 

“We have had people move tanks from their basement to outside the home, and not tell their distributor,” said President and Chief Operating Office of Lykins Oil in Milford Jeff Lykins.  “People have forgotten to remove outside fill lines and have ended up with a basement full of home heating oil.”  The EPA reports that every year there are several reports of hundreds of gallons of heating oil that was mistakenly pumped into basements; the cleanup is costly.  There have had cases where it is less expensive to level the home than to try to clean up the spill.

 

“Early detection and quick action is essential when it comes to minimizing the leak,” added Jim Whitworth, chief of fire and emergency medical services in Clermont County’s fast growing Miami Township.  Lykins and Whitworth all encourage home heating oil customers to inspect their tanks on a regular basis to ensure there is no corrosion and that the tank is secure.  “Home heating oil is one of the safest forms of home heat out there,” said Lykins.  “We encourage people to contact their distributors immediately if they think there is a problem.

 

For more information about avoiding home heating oil spills, visit the website www.epa.state.oh.us or call 1-800-282-9378.    

 

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For additional information about this or other county news, contact Clermont County Communications Assistant Rebecca Kimble at (513) 732-7597 or by e-mail, rkimble@ clermontcountyohio.gov.
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