If you suspect an oil leak at your home, you should act quickly and contact us immediately on 01-5394393.

Don’t put off taking action or assume the problem will go away. The quicker the leak can be dealt with, the less oil will be lost and further damage can be minimised.

Once you have contacted us you can complete the following checklist to minimise further damage while we dispatch a team to your site:

• if there’s a strong smell of oil in your home, ventilate the area by opening windows and doors and contact the Environmental Health Department in the local council for advice
• keep children and pets away from any leaks
• avoid getting oil on your skin and clothing
• wash your hands and don’t smoke, eat or drink when or after you are in contact with the oil
• switch off your oil supply at the tank
• try to find out where the leak is coming from
• immediately, try to stop it at the source - put a bucket under dripping oil to catch it (don’t use containers that will be used to store food for humans or animals)
• prevent leaked oil from spreading and, in particular, prevent it from getting into drains and waterways - you can use absorbing material such as earth, sand, cat litter or commercial products
• if there’s an ongoing leak from the tank, try to stem the flow - you may be able to use sealant to temporarily repair a metal tank; for plastic tanks, try rubbing a bar of soft soap into the split
• try to work out how much oil has been lost; check the level on the tank and think about how much you use and when you last had a deliver
• never use detergents or a hose to wash the leak away
• store anything with oil on it, or soaked into it, in containers that don’t leak until it can be correctly and legally disposed of
• if the oil has or could enter drains or the water environment (groundwater, ponds, burns, rivers, loughs, estuaries or coastal waters) you must contact the Environmental Protection Agency immediately on their water pollution hotline
• if it’s likely to affect a public water supply you must contact Environmental Proteciton Agency on their Waterline number
• if it’s likely to affect private water supplies you must contact your local council (ask for the Environmental Health Department)
• if your water supply or pipework may have been affected, don’t drink the water
• arrange for any remaining fuel in the tank to be removed by a fuel supplier -don’t do this yourself or store oil in a building, shed or vehicle
• check with your insurer whether they or you should arrange for an engineer to repair or replace your tank or pipework 

Making sure it doesn't happen again

To help avoid an oil leak happening again, you should check your oil tank regularly