Fulcrum Environmental Consulting

Fulcrum was retained by a large commercial orchardist following notice from the Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology) and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation of an area of illegal drum storage and petroleum staining on an area of U.S. government land near Mattawa, Washington. As is typical in remote areas, property boundaries are not always obvious. But the fact that nearly 200 full 55-gallon drums of purportedly “used oil” from farm equipment had been stored on bare soil should have been an indication that a better solution was necessary. Further complicating the situation was Ecology’s concern that the drums may have contained mixed equipment fluids, including used oil, antifreeze, transmission oils, brake fluid, etc. or agricultural chemicals. Following discussions with Ecology, Fulcrum prepared a sampling and analysis plan to include visual inspection and chlorinated product testing of each drum. Where indications of drum fluid layering or chlorinated products were identified through field testing, representative samples of the fluid were collected and submitted for laboratory analysis. At the conclusion of the project, nearly 95% of all drums were confirmed to be used oil and approximate 5% of the drums were identified with chlorinated product contamination from brake cleaners and similar fluids. 

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