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***image1***What is happening when you see visible evidence of a fuel or oil spill? Very quickly, these materials soak into the ground (even through pavement) and go into ground water in local ditches, streams, lakes and even our drinking water supply.
It’s easy to see during wet weather – that telltale rainbow sheen of oil floating on top of wet ground or puddles. Wet weather is also a bad time for spills, since contamination catches a free ride straight through the surface drainage networks into local streams.
Unfortunately, a single drop of oil contaminates one million drops of water, and all fuel, oil and hazardous chemical releases have the potential to contaminate our environment. In fact, the accumulative effect of man-made pollution deteriorates the quality of surface waters and drinking water supplies all around us. Therefore, all leaks and spills must immediately be cleaned up or reported to proper authorities so that proper cleanup can be performed.
On post, we are much more concerned with preventing and eliminating spills than trying to penalize anyone for having an accidental spill. Don’t hesitate to report it if you’ve had any type of fuel or hazardous material spill.
Also, if you see leakage under an unattended vehicle, please call it in. Off post, the penalties for not reporting a spill can be greater than the cost of cleaning it up, so you should never ignore even the smallest of spills.
When in doubt, call your U.S. fire department at the emergency response number – 117 for on-post Army or 112 for civilian off post and on-base Air Force.
For more information on spills, don’t hesitate to call the U.S. Army Garrison Kaisers-lautern’s Environmental Management Division at 483-6059.
Editor’s note: Don Doran is the environmental protection specialist with the U.S. Army Garrison Kaiserslautern’s Directorate of Public Works.
