Lobby 99: Glossary

A fund that provides money to address petroleum releases from underground storage tanks that are regulated by the federal government. It is paid for by a 1-cent tax on each gallon of fuel.

Its functions include...

o Overseeing and enforcing cleanups.
o Paying for emergency cleanups or cleanups where the owner or operator is unable to.
o Preventing leaks

To learn more about the Leaking Underground Storage Tank Trust Fund, visit www.epa.gov/oust/ltffacts.htm.

Petroleum classifications

Crude oil is classified as either sweet or sour, depending on how much sulfur it contains.

Sweet crude oil - which contains less than 1/2 percent sulfur - is easier to refine and safer to transport. It costs more than sour petroleum.

The sulfur in sour crude oil can cause health problems. At low concentrations, it gives the oil the smell associated with "rotten eggs". At larger concentrations, it can be fatal.

Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR)

The nation's emergency fuel storage.

The crude oil is stored in four storage facilities in Louisiana and Texas - in deep underground caverns. The total capacity is more than 700 million barrels. Both sweet and sour crude oil is stored.

it is maintained by the Department of Energy (DOE).

You can click here to see how much crude oil currently is being stored.

Trans-Alaska Pipeline

(Coming)

Uranium extraction

These are the primary ways uranium is obtained for use in nuclear fuel and weapons...

o Conventional milling: Uranium ore from mines is brought to a mill, where it is crushed into smaller particles. Uranium is then leached from the particles using a liquid such as sulfuric acid.

o In situ recovery: A solution is injected into the ground to dissolve the uranium. Then the solution (containing the dissolved uranium) is collected and pumped to a processing plant where the uranium is extracted. This is similar to fracking, but shallower, which can affect groundwater.

The product of uranium extraction is known as yellowcake.