Leaks can occur at any point - in the storage tank itself, in the gas pumps, and in the pipes that connect them.
A large tank might be 55 feet long and hold as many as 30,000 gallons a typical tank might hold 10,000 gallons. Typically, two or three of these giant, submarine-shaped tanks are buried under a station to store the gasoline and diesel that gets piped to the pump. The main culprit: the underground storage tanks that hold tens of thousands of gallons of fuel, one of the most common sources of groundwater pollution. Almost every gas station eventually pollutes the earth beneath it, experts told Grist. Matthew Metz, the founder of the nonprofit Coltura, walks in front of an Arco gas station in Seattle. One sample taken late last year showed levels of gasoline-related compounds 72 times higher than Washington state’s allowable limit. After decades of efforts to remove and break down that pollution - a host of contaminants including lead, benzene, and the suspected carcinogen methyl tertiary-butyl ether - trace amounts remain, with some highly polluted patches in the soil. The Arco station has a long history of leaking, with petroleum products discovered floating in the septic tank beneath it in 1990.
Hidden below the station is a tract of contaminated soil that extends underneath a neighboring apartment building. On the east side of the property, tall white pipes that vent toxic vapors from petroleum kept underground stood just 10 feet away from the window of a childcare center. “This is a hazardous materials facility,” he told me.ĭrivers pumped their tanks with gas, breathing carcinogens like benzene, the source of gasoline’s signature sweet smell. Looking around, he marveled at the risks that everyone was taking, even if they weren’t aware of it. Metz knows a lot about gas stations, and it changes what he sees. It was a sunny spring day, and the Arco station in North Seattle looked like any other on a busy street corner, with cars fueling up and a line of bored people waiting to buy snacks and drinks inside the convenience store. Matthew Metz, the founder of Coltura, a nonprofit trying to speed up the country’s shift away from gasoline, climbed out of his car with printed maps in hand, prepared to give me a tour. This story was co-published with Crosscut.Ī black, electric-powered Nissan Leaf pulled up to a gas station - not to fuel up, of course.
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