Kerosene Spill on house driveway

Bif

Folks,
Please advise...I had a delivery of kerosene this morning which resulted in a spill of kerosene on my driveway. The company in question were lets say 'slow' to respond while admitting there was a mechaical failure on the truck and trying to clean up later. I am not sure how my much was spilt...they say 30 litres I think substantially more. It has made a huge mess on my front drive, can't let out kids and pets, shoes come in with strong smell and there is a major smell outside generally and large mess from detergents and absorbent material. However my biggest fear is it will damage the tarmac, impact on soil and make its way into the foundations of the house. The question is what should I do? Thanks in advance.

meercat

You need to get this resolved asap. Get onto oil company and demand someone call out tomorrow. Contact your own insurance company and explain to them the situation. The longer this is left untreated the worse it will become for you and any neighbours. If you have your own well do not drink the water from it. Make sure you act on this immediately. It will save a lot of hassle later. Keep us informed

Bif

Meercat. You're right. The local oil company rep and crew came out and used detergent and absorbent material and said they filed an incident report to head office. He gave me the name of the contact in head office who was gone home when I contacted them. I will try again in the morning. What should I say to my own insurance company?

Dutchie

If your driveway is tarmac the kero will break it down very quickly.
The oil company legally should have had a full clean up kit on board the truck.
An oil truck can pump up to 400 litres per minuted depending on the delivery nozzle and pump installed on the truck, therefore i doubt only 30 litres was spilt.
Was the distbutor part of a large multinational eg texaco, Emo, Esso, Topaz etc or a small independent?

Get the kero removed asap or you/the oil company could face massive cleanup charges including potential cleaning of and reinstatment of contaimnanted soil.

Bif

Dutchie,
The kero appears to have soaked through or has been removed by the oil company but there is obviously some still around below the surface as it has a very strong smell. What more can I do in terms of removing it / neutralising it? All help gratefully appreciated. BTW it is an nationwide (Irish) company.

jwshooter

the spilt oil was that on your bill ?

Bif

Good question...yet to be resolved as I have not paid the bill but at the moment its the least of my concerns. Have to say through that the amount on the receipt looks like what was put in the tank but I wil be questioning it.

meercat

You must get your own independant assessor in. Don't rely on oil company. If this is not cleaned up immediately the cost could be massive. Protect yourself as your neighbours could claim off your insurance if this is not cleaned up properly. Remember get independant advice. Don't panic but don't leave it

Bif

Meercat,
Do you mean an independent insurance assessor or soomebody with expertise in oil spillage?

meercat

Your own insurance can handle it if you want. Don't worry they will recoup all the costs off oil company. It may suit you better to get your own man in if you want.(this may be more hassle though) If it were me i would want an independant engineers report when job is completed.(either though your own insurance company or through oil company) There are a few companies who specialise in this field.

LookBehindYou

\look on the bright side, you wont have a prob with weeds where the kero spilt.

You didnt give a clear picture of the area involved. Is it in a housing estate, or is it in a rural area ?

Bif

Small estate in a rural area. Detached houses on largish sites. It appears a much was spilt on the road as on our drive.

meercat

Any news today Bif?

Bif

Hi Meercat and all,
Yes local company appeared and continued to soak / clean surface. The parent company also sent enviro assessor from their insurance comany who assessed the damage and has organised a more professional outfit to come from Dublin tomorrow to do more thorough clean up. He is then going to test the soil and under the tarmac when the ground softens to see what extent the kero has caused damage. As well as that they have committed to sorting out any damge to soil and tarmac in the short and medium term. I also notified my own insurance company and have an independent assessor on standby for Monday (thanks for the contact Meercat) if I feel it is necessary. In general I feel the company have behaved honourably, if not v. efficently, to date.
Thanksfully their is no sign of seepage into the house yet but the mess and smell on the outside is stil strong and the mess is causing a lot of inconvenience all round. I will update again tomorrow.
All advice welcome.

meercat

Great. Seems like they know what they are doing. Keep on top of them. Cheers

Dutchie

Bif, most Oil companies are extremely busy at the moment due to the cold snap. Any large oil company will act in a professional and concesnious way to resolve the problem. The important thing to do to is to ensure the clean-up is actioned quickly and the product (kero) is removed quickly from the affected area.

Bif

3 guys turned up this morning but despite their best efforts they were only able to do part of what they wanted due to the ground temp i.e. the minute any water touched the ground it froze. It was minus 5 at midday. Guess I'll have to wait until Monday but you can see the tarmac begining to ravel when the guys were brushing up the absorbent material. Ah well more hassle...:(. At least it has penetrated into the house yet but with the frost and hard ground I don' t know what more can be done in the short term. This is going to run and run I'm afraid :cool:

Ducthie...any comment on how to remove the kero would be appreciated...

meercat

hi bif.any update

Bif

meercat wrote: »

hi bif.any update

Hi Meercat,
Just concluded this week really as I paid an agreed proportion of the keorsene bill. In fairness to the company the got an environmental company to come clean up, test soil around the spil area, dig out contaimated soil, replace it and seed it. My only concern is now the tarmac and if it ravels in time to come. But overall they were reasonbale in their response. They even dug up a apth outside the house and and replaced it as well.