If you are buying a home, you will want to know for certain if there is or has been a tank buried on the property, and if it has leaked into the ground. Many current owners often do not have knowledge if there is a tank or not, if they did not have a tank survey when they bought the house. Often a visual inspection of the property is not sufficient to determine the presence of a tank. It may yield clues, but a GPR survey will give you a definitive evaluation.
The GPR is a sophisticated piece of equipment that sends a radar signal into the ground and will tell you where an underground tank is located. A metal detector cannot always find the tank and is not as reliable as the GPR. Additionally, the GPR can tell you where a former underground tank was located so the soil can be tested for past leaks.
Because the costs associated with removing the tank and any related cleanup are the responsibility of the current owner of the property, have the GPR scan before you purchase the home. Otherwise, you run the risk of buying the property and moving in, only to discover at a later date you have an underground tank. At that point, the removal is your responsibility and may end up costing you thousands of dollars.