Bell Research Develops Leak Sensor for Tanks

Bell Communications Research said it has developed a prototype version of an inexpensive sensor for leaks from underground fuel tanks.

Leaking fuel can contaminate wells and reservoirs, and the Environmental Protection Agency recently required that all underground fuel storage tanks be monitored for leaks by the end of 1993.

Bellcore said its sensor is made of a material that stops conducting electricity when it absorbs fuel. When the electricity shuts off an alarm is triggered above ground.

Bellcore, based in Livingston, N.J., is the research arm of the seven regional Bell telephone companies as well as Cincinnati Bell and Southern New England Telephone. It developed the sensor for manholes because fuel leaking into them can endanger workers and damage cables.