ABSTRACT
In the United States, underground storage and transmis sion of fuels and chemicals is a common occurrence within commercial, industrial, and individual uses (American Pe troleum Institute, 1983a, 1983b; Morganwalp, 1993; Paukstys et al., 1998). Pipes and tanks [URL Ref. No. 253], however, are subject to structural failures arising from a wide variety of causes (Anonymous, 1999). Subsequent leakage [URL Ref. No. 157] then becomes a source of con tamination that can affect the quality of local groundwater. The growing number of substantial potential consequence is leakage from underground storage tanks and from pipelines leading to them (Bryant and Wilson, 1999). Corrosion is the most frequent cause for leakage. It has been estimated that at least 35 percent of all underground storage tanks are now leaking (U.S. EPA, 1986b).
