threat of fuel leakages.

Steel fuel storage tanks and pipes at all Esso service stations and industrial outlets are to be replaced within the next five years.

In their place will go fibre-glass double-wall tanks and corrosion-resistant pipes, which will significantly reduce leakage and make accessing the pipes less costly, said Mr. Allan Doughty Jr., operations manager at Esso Bermuda.

Yesterday he oversaw the installation of the new pipes at Elbow Beach Hotel.

"They are the first of their type in Bermuda,'' he said. "The environment was the key consideration. The aim of the programme is to pre-empt a serious leakage.'' By the end of the year, the new, non-corrosive tanks will be installed at two Esso service stations.

Director of engineering for Elbow Beach Hotel Mr. David Tompkins said protection of the environment was a vital consideration of the hotel industry.

"We all have a responsibility to the environment. We saw that for Elbow Beach it was very much in their best interests to preserve the beaches and environment. That is what we sell here.'' The new equipment, provided by Pennsylvania-based Total Containment, has proved successful over the past 10 years in the United States in cutting down on leakages.

Flexible pipes are fed through secondary pipes catching dripping fuel before it seeps into the ground. And repairs are less costly because the pipes can be removed for inspection without excavation.

Pipe joints, where leakages are most likely to occur, are encased in catchment containers and can be easily accessed for regular checks.

PERFECT PIPES -- Mr. David Tompkins, director of engineering at Elbow Beach, and Mr. Allan Doughty Jr., operations manager for Esso Bermuda, examine blueprints for the installation of environmentally-friendly fuel pipes at the hotel.