Oil-fired furnaces or boilers should not be started until they have been checked by a service technician. The danger is that a furnace or boiler could give off dangerous gases, including carbon monoxide, which can be deadly and must be vented. If a furnace or boiler is damaged, gases may be released in your home. Be sure all vents around tanks and all flue vents are not blocked so that gases can exhaust freely.
Submersion or prolonged exposure to salt water can increase the potential for corrosion. In addition to damage by the storm and flooding, above and below ground storage tanks containing bulk liquids (fuel oil/kerosene) along the coast are susceptible to corrosion by saltwater and should be inspected accordingly. Leakage could contaminate ecosystems and drinking water and be costly to clean up.
What about my drinking water well after an oil spill?
If your well has been contaminated by oil, you will probably smell it in the water. You may also see an oily sheen on the water flooding the well, in the tap water, or in run-off of oil to a well. There may be other ways you know or suspect that oil has contaminated your well. If you think this is the case, do not drink the water.
Notify the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (1-800-457-7362) and/or New York State Department of Health 1-800-458-1158.