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Why is Underground Storage Tank (UST) Operator Training Necessary?
Section 1524 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 states that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in coordination with states, must develop training guidelines for three distinct classes of operators who operate and maintain federally regulated UST systems.
While the Energy Policy Act was passed in 2005, the guidelines of the act were not effective until Aug. 8, 2007. Under the guidelines, a state had until Aug. 8, 2009 to develop state-specific training requirements consistent with EPA's guidelines. All three classes of UST operators in every state with completed regulations must be trained according to the state-specific training requirements by Aug. 8, 2012.
In 2015, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) revised the underground storage tank (UST) regulations which includes minimum training requirements for owners and operators of UST systems.
Leaking USTs are a grave threat to America's groundwater. About 20 million people drink water from small drinking water systems that get rely on groundwater. Gas stations, industries and other entities use USTs to hold toxic material such as gasoline and oil that contain dangerous substances, including benzene, toluene and heavy metals that can cause cancer and harm developing children. Benzene, one of the contaminants released from LUSTs, has been classified by the USEPA and the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) as a known human carcinogen that causes acute myelocytic leukemia and bone marrow depression.
Underground Storage Tanks (USTs) can threaten communities as their walls corrode by silently leaking toxins into our drinking water supplies, homes and businesses. Preliminary research has found that children who live near gas stations or automobile repair shops were four times more likely to develop childhood leukemia than children who did not live near such stations establishments.
[1] Leaking Underground Storage Tanks and Environmental Injustice. US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health
[2] Leaking Underground Storage Tanks: A Threat to Public Health & Environment. Sierra Club, April 2005. (PDF)
in order to minimize and prevent accidental leaks and spills to the greatest extent possible, owners and operators must be properly trained and certified in various aspects of system maintenance and operations.
Likewise, employees who perform inspections without proper training run the risk of injury and accidents. Typically it is up to the owner of the UST system to provide adequate training for employees. An employee must also be also be aware of some hazards
Proper management of petroleum products, equipping USTs with self-regulating technologies such as leak detectors, implementing mandatory reporting of leaks, and ultimately creating a local environmental hazard surveillance system significantly reduces the prevalence of Leaking Underground Storage Tanks (LUSTs).
business can be even shutdown if a UST system is found to be out of compliance or in significant violation of UST regulations.