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DEMONSTRATION AND EVALUATION OF TECHNOLOGIES FOR DETERMINING THE SUITABILITY OF USTS FOR UPGRADING WITH CATHODIC PROTECTION (EPA/600/R-99/037)
Citation:
Flora, Jr, J. D. DEMONSTRATION AND EVALUATION OF TECHNOLOGIES FOR DETERMINING THE SUITABILITY OF USTS FOR UPGRADING WITH CATHODIC PROTECTION (EPA/600/R-99/037). U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., 1999.
Description:
Field applications of three alternate technologies for assessing the suitability of undergraound storage tanks for upgrading by the addition of cathodic protection were observed and documented. The technologies were applied to give existing underground storage tanks that were slated for removal. Noninvasive statistical modeling, invasive inspection by remote video camera, and invasive internal inspection were applied to each of the tanks. Three vendors applied their individual statistical modeling approaches to assess the suitability of the tanks for upgrading with cathodic protection. One vendor demonstrated remote video camera inspection technology, and another conducted an internal inspection by entering the tanks. After all of the technology assessments were conducted, the tanks were removed and inspected both externally and internally by non-destructive and destructive means to determine their actual condition. The determinations made using the alternate technologies were then compared to the actual condition of the tanks. Each of the alternate assessment technologies concluded that the tanks (or sites) were not suitable for upgrading with cathodic protection. The inspections and tests conducted after excavation of the tanks arrived at the same determination. Perforations from corrosion were documented in four of the five tanks, and deep pitting by corrosion was found in the remaining tank. The results of this comparison are strictly qualitative due to the small number of tanks included. The results of this limited study cannot be extrapolated to make conclusions beyond those made for the specific tanks tested.