spilling oil on purpose

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do-it-yourself mechanics who change their motor oil in the back yard, dump about 240 million gallons of oil into the environment each year -- the equivalent of 5 oil tankers spilling their entire load

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• this is equal to 20x of the spill of the Exxon Valdez / Alaska ( march 90 )
  ( source: automotive information council )

• of the 350 million gallons people change in their cars; 60% is not disposed of properly ( 60% x 350 million = 240 million gal)

• used oil is much more toxic than new oil

• ground/surface water & soil are polluted; water treatment plants are damaged

• used oil in surface waters depletes oxygen for fish; blocks sunlite that impairs photosynthesis; becomes concentrated in tissues of plants and animals that may be eaten by humans

• one quart of used oil can ruin the taste of 250,000 gallons of water -- this is one quart per 1,000,000 quarts -- l part per million: 1ppm

• one gallon of used oil can be refined to make 2.5 quarts of new, clean oil

• used oil filters can be recycled

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  for more information regarding this problem:
  call:
  
  • our local environmental group
  • director; used oil programs; US - EPA -- OS-301 401 "M" Street - SW; Washington, D.C. 20460
  • American Petroleum Institute 1220 "L" Street - N.W.; Washington DC 20005

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