Remote real-time monitoring and control of contamination in underground storage tank systems of petrol products

A system to monitor and to control contamination in the soil, as well as in the aquifer is presented. Specifically, the system is suitable to monitor continuously, remotely, and in real-time the soil surrounding underground storage tank (UST) systems, such as in petrol service stations. The system has also functions for remediation, due to the possibility to be configured as a soil venting system. A prototype has been running for more than three years in a petrol service station in Genova, Italy. Results show that, in daily work, frequent small-medium leakages may occur, which may be related to several events, the most frequent of which is the delivery of petrol products to the USTs. In these cases, the system can diagnose the leakage and start remediation by a specific soil venting process. Some considerations on the cost/benefit evaluation of this technology and on the utility to insert it as an important step to assure zero emissions to the soil in connection with petrol product storage and manufacturing are discussed.