1963 used engine oil disposal article - photo

[FEM2008]

According to the Florida Water and Pollution Control Operators Association, "...just one quart of oil can contaminate up to 250,000 gallons of drinking water or cause an oil slick almost 2 acres in size. Backyard mechanics dump over 40 times more used oil into the environment each year than the Exxon Valdez spilled into Alaska's Prince William Sound (11 million gallons)."

Years ago, I visited a castle that was built before the crusades. It has a functioning water cistern. It was eye opening to see the care people took back then to keep the cistern and surrounding area clean from contamination. They understood that oil and tar should be kept away from ground water over a thousand years ago. It boggle my mind that people thought that was okay to do what the article described only a few decades ago.