Why Were There So Many Barrels at the East Boston Diesel Cleanup?

When one reader took a look at from the East Boston Camp diesel spill last month and wondered why so many 55 gallon barrels were needed for only a few gallons of spilled diesel fuel.

The answer is twofold according to town officials.

First, in order to facilitate the cleanup, speedy dry and topsoil was added to the fuel, which also included some water since it had rained the previous night.

Second, under state regulations, barrels at environmental cleanup sites cannot be filled all the way for fear that their contents might be spilled during transport. However, if they could, they probably wouldn’t be, with town officials noting that they’ve found that it’s more efficient to transport lighter barrels than a smaller number of heavier barrels.

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