Contemporary used oil audits in Tonga

Abstract

The Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) retained Golder Associates New Caledonia Sarl (Golder) to perform contemporary used oil audits in Cook Islands, Kiribati, Nauru, Solomon Islands, Tonga, and Tuvalu to establish volumes of lubricating, hydraulic and transmissions oils imported into each country and the volume of used oil produced, and stored or otherwise disposed of. The major sources of used oil are power generation and motor vehicles. Used oil contains high levels of heavy metals and some amounts of more toxic chemicals. Oil spilled on the ground contaminates the soil and leaches into the water system, polluting water courses, groundwater, lagoons and the ocean.