Waste oil: friend or foe.

• Author: Woodring, Jeannie
• Position: Includes related article on used oil regulations

Unless properly controlled, used oil can become one of Alaska's major environmental problems.

One drop at a time, used oil looks harmless. But all the drops of the gooey liquid from Alaska's autos, planes and industries add up to more than 10,000 tons of the pollutant each year - and that doesn't include oil generated by boats, military bases or federal agencies.

Then there's the problem of underground storage tanks. The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (ADEC) estimates there's currently about 4,000 registered commercial and 20,000 unregulated leaking household underground storage tanks around Alaska. Together, they contaminate approximately 700,000 to 1,900,000 tons of soil.

It all adds up to make waste oil a major pollution problem in Alaska.

Across the state, an army of volunteers and agencies are working to clean up and control waste oil. In some areas, they're winning the fight; in others, they're losing. Armed with the information in the following article, you can become part of Alaska's waste oil solution.

It's important to begin with an understanding of the laws governing used oil. Like an oil slick on water, these laws shift and change, but never go away. As science uncovers more facts about pollution, state and federal regulations become more broad and complex. Today, there are rules governing everything from what kind of oil you have to how to handle, reduce and dispose of it properly.

Federal regulations define three categories of used oil: on-spec (that falls within determined specifications), off-spec (that exceeds the specifications) and hazardous.

Handle with Care. Eddie Burke, owner of Eddie's Chevron in Anchorage, knows that it pays to handle waste oil properly.

"One can of brake fluid cleaner can contaminate a thousand gallons of oil," he says. "The cost is prohibitive to get rid of this stuff, so we take a lot of steps to keep our used oil clean."

He pays Alaska Pollution Control, a Palmer-based oil recycler, 75 cents a gallon to reprocess his "on-spec" oil. It costs him $2 a gallon to get rid of oil mixed with water. Mixed with solvents, the oil becomes hazardous and disposal even more expensive.

A recycling system keeps Burke's anti-freeze from getting carried into the oil tanks. A lid covering a drain on the shop floor stops water from washing into the tanks, and employees use pans to catch solvent before it can spill onto the floor.

Because oil also poses a health hazard, one of Burke's employees works as a company coordinator of the Green Star program, the Anchorage voluntary cooperative association that encourages environmentally sound business programs. He trains the other employees to handle wastes properly. Some of the tasks they learn include: segregating wastes in clean, durable containers; protecting the containers from weather and dirt; wearing gloves; washing skin or clothes stained with oil; keeping oily rags in designated bins instead of pockets; and not using kerosene, thinner or solvents to remove oil from the skin.

Hazardous waste oil requires even more guarded handling. If you've got small amounts of hazardous waste oil, keep it in spill-proof containers. EPA-approved hazardous waste haulers must be called to transport large amounts of...