CHENNAI, July 24: Thanjavur's mystery wells, in which traces of petrol-like substances were discovered recently, continue to baffle scientists attached to the public sector oil companies and owners of about five wells where hydrocarbon was detected. "We are not able to isolate the source of the substance though it is very clear that it is a hydrocarbon," a highly-placed Indian Oil Corporation official confided to The Indian Express.The tests conducted on the water samples collected from the wells have indicated that the substance did not meet the "stringent specifications" of petrol when tested for factors like density, octane number and "recovery at 70 degrees centigrade". "It is a product resembling petrol but it does not meet the so called specifications of petrol. Neither can we totally rule out that it is not petrol," an IOC official admitted.
A five-litre water sample, collected from the well of Jayaraman, a resident of Thanjavur, who had first complained of finding traces of petroleumsubstances in his drinking water well, was sent to the IOC lab first in Tuticorin and later to the lab in Chennai. It was found that the substance in the water samples collected from the wells resembled petrol. Traces of such hydrocarbon has been detected in four other wells in the area.
"Almost everyday we are ensuring through studies that there is no leakage from the petrol tank in the bunk (located in the vicinity of the wells)," said the IOC official. Pressure tests were conducted by emptying out the petrol contents in the tank after excavating it out from the ground and filling it with water to look for leaks. The pump line laid in a trench between the tanks and the dispensing pump was also checked. The IOC has thus ruled out leakage from the petrol tank.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
