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40 SEPTEMBER 2016 | FUEL OIL NEWS | www.fueloilnews.com EPA's research builds on industry's first study about rapid and severe corrosion in USTs storing diesel, which the Clean Diesel Fuel Alliance (CDFA) completed in 2012. The objective of CDFA's study was to produce an initial hypothesis about the mechanism of corrosion from data collected on six UST systems. EPA's Office of Research and Development (ORD) completed research shortly after CDFA.2 Both the CDFA and ORD research hypothesized that biofuel components in diesel, such as ethanol and biodiesel, could be providing the energy source for microbial populations of bac- teria like acetobacter in USTs. This genus of bacteria was the most abundant in samples that underwent DNA sequencing in CDFA's study. EPA's research plan to identify any predictive factors by default included checking the plausibility of the hypotheses previously sug- gested. However, there are numerous other types of bacteria that could also be consuming chemical components of the fuel or fuel contaminants found in USTs. In addition to bacteria, there are also a number of other microorganisms that could cause or contribute to the corrosion attacks, including fungi, archaea, and eukaryotic organisms. A combination of one or more of these factors could also be responsible, but we did not test for those factors in our research. Because only limited scientific research was available, EPA assumed from the beginning of our research that, within our research scope, it was not feasible to definitively pinpoint a cause of the corrosion. Further, most familiarity with the extent and geographic spread of the problem was anecdotal. Therefore, an exploratory approach was most helpful in expanding the knowl- edge around the issue. Our research suggests that MIC is likely involved in the moderate or severe internal corrosion in USTs storing diesel. However, further identification of specific bacteria was not possible within the scope of our research. Therefore, while previous research hypotheses about the role of specific species of a genus oxidizing biofuel components were not disproven by the results of our research, validation would be speculative. EPA's research population of 42 USTs was geographically, materially, and operationally diverse and was the largest field research of this issue to date. However, the population is a small percentage of diesel USTs across the United States, and the types of USTs and maintenance practices by owners in the research population may differ from those in the national population of USTs storing diesel. Therefore, EPA cannot predict if the presence of moderate or severe corrosion in diesel USTs across the United States will be higher or lower than identified in our research. EPA recommends owners check their diesel UST systems for corrosion and take steps to ensure the proper operability of their UST systems. EPA is recommending this because 83 percent of USTs in the study affected by moderate or severe corrosion is very high, most of the owners were not aware of the extent of the corrosion in their USTs, and it appears that corrosion could potentially affect equipment functionality and potentially lead to a release of fuel to the environment. l F O N The MEASURE of EXCELLENCE The most powerful, accurate, and rugged combustion analyzers you can own! testo 320: For frequent testing and troubleshooting of furnaces, boiler and other combustion devices testo 330 LL: For testing of commercial and industrial boilers, furnaces, and other combustion devices (NOx optional) Offer valid: 8/15/16-12/31/16 Terms And Conditions Apply Bag Does Not Include Electrical Instruments For Details and Full Info Visit: WWW.TESTO.COM/PROMO The MEASURE EXCELLENCE MEASURE of EXCELLENCE FREE VETO TECH-MCT TOOL BAG! ($160 Value) EPA: CORROSION IN UST SYSTEMS COULD BE COMMON