Is It Safe to Live near a Petrol Station?

Ldpark88 on 21/11/2020 - 23:35
Last edited 21/11/2020 - 23:43

I'm hoping a chemical/petroleum engineer stalks OzBargain.

So the story is my partner and I found a great low-rise apartment for an attractive price in lower north shore Sydney.

We're planning on having a child in the future. However, we've recently read about some studies that look at the risks of living close to petrol stations and instances of leukemia. This has left both of us a bit spooked.

The distance between the apartment and servo is roughly 110-120 metres away. The apartment is 5 stories up (roughly 17-20 metres high).

Advice appreciated. Also keen to hear about any first-hand experience living near a servo.

Thanks all!

Poll Options expired

  • 32
    Yes, it's safe.
  • 9
    No, it's not safe.
  • 1
    Somewhere in between.
Home & Garden

Comments

  • Hybroid on 21/11/2020 - 23:45

    It's probably perfectly fine but the noise won't be worth it. Suggest somewhere else if you want peace.

    • Scrooge McDuck on 22/11/2020 - 04:50
      +1

      I have no idea, so I clicked Yes. 🤷‍♂️

  • Donaldhump on 21/11/2020 - 23:45
    +5

    As long as you don’t flick your Durries at it

  • Colombian on 21/11/2020 - 23:49
    +3

    About 20 years ago I used to work in a petrol station for years in my home country at the bowser filling cars in 12 hour shifts. I'm 43 years old and pretty much alive.

    • UrMumsOnlyFan on 22/11/2020 - 01:04
      +7

      Pretty much alive is a decent way to be.

  • SnoozeAndLose on 21/11/2020 - 23:50
    +1

    Low price for a reason?

    Read some articles about the harm to do with the petrol vapour.

    I won't if I have a choice, it is a long term effect which hardly proven the harm, so mind your own risk.

    • mskeggs on 22/11/2020 - 09:00
      -1

      120m away

      • SnoozeAndLose on 22/11/2020 - 09:28

        Isn't that far, the air space is clear about 2 or 3rd floor.

        But the affect should be decrease exponentially when distance increase.

        No one knows.

        Still lots of people living much closer than 120m. I do notice that the price near petrol station is at least 5-10% cheaper than the one further to the petrol station.

  • Moneyinthebank on 22/11/2020 - 00:53

    It smells nice

    • Scrooge McDuck on 22/11/2020 - 06:53
      +2

      I prefer the sweetness of E10 over the punch of 98, but it's a lot cheaper so I may be biased.

  • WreckTangle on 22/11/2020 - 00:56
    +4

    The noise would’t be great…think loud exhausts, slamming doors, talking and music, the ding and hose noises of the air machine…

  • mrvaluepack on 22/11/2020 - 00:59

    I wouldnt….

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvbeSlTLvrI

  • bdl on 22/11/2020 - 01:05
    +3

    Depends whether you live in GTA V or not

  • pencilman on 22/11/2020 - 01:14
    +5

    Geez, 110 meters away…., you should feel comfortable you are far enough away even it were to catch fire.

  • Emerald Owl on 22/11/2020 - 02:50
    +1

    That’s not really near

  • SuperMid on 22/11/2020 - 03:23
    +2

    What about all the cars who drive on the roads within 20m of your apartment, think of what those exhaust fumes could do! And then the neighbor who smokes on the balcony above/below you too!

    Underground nuclear bunker is the best bet.

  • TheMindsetTraveller on 22/11/2020 - 05:59
    +6

    For the same money, buy a place 5hrs outside of the lower north shore. You do not have to worry about petrol stations, let alone smelly car, bus and truck fumes. You won't get run over the uber-food deliverers, or bumped into by random people busy looking at their phones whilst walking. Clean crisp air. WFH if you can. Home school your children. Grow your own produce and livestock organically and biodynamically - none of that hormone and chemical stuff you mostly buy at supermarkets. BTW I'm just kidding unless you really want that lifestyle.

    Seriously though if you are asking, you are concerned and just don't do it - regardless how safe or not it really is. At the end of the day, if your future child comes out with three eyes, you will blame the petrol station even if the medicine will suggest otherwise.

    • pegaxs on 22/11/2020 - 08:17
      +2

      I agree with that last part. Snotty nose, petrol station. Rash, petrol station, Restless sleeping, petrol station. If OP already has concerns, it will be the brunt of everything that goes wrong.

      But then again, 5 floors up and 120m away isn’t really “close”.

  • shaybisc on 22/11/2020 - 08:28

    There is a link between exposure to benzene and childhood leukemia but that applies if you are close to a petrol station or to any road with heavy traffic, and that's most flats isn't it?

  • elgrande on 22/11/2020 - 08:50
    +1

    You can get those 7eleven freebies before the attendant hides them out the back!

  • wittyusername on 22/11/2020 - 12:20

    Depends on a lot of factors, as most people suggest, 120m away and 5 stories up means you're pretty unlikely to get any ill effects, however, is peace of mind worth spending a bit more?

    When considering things like this, you need a contamination source, pathway and receptor. In this case, the source is (potentially) the servo; how old are the USTs, is it a registered contaminated site etc. Then you need a pathway, the most likely pathway would be hydrocarbon contamination in the groundwater, so which way is the groundwater flowing, how can it get back from the groundwater to the receptor (bores, streams etc). And finally the receptor, which is you and your family - for this you may want to consider time weighted averages on how long you would spend exposed to potential contamination.

    **Edit - I'm an enviro, not a health worker nor engineer who I would happily cede to in any arguments about this. My knowledge is more about the spread of contamination and it's receptors than the actual effect on human health.

  • Emerald Owl on 22/11/2020 - 12:33

    Imagine if the govt mandated the fuel emissions standards the Americans and Europeans do. But no, they instead want to tax electric cars even more. Even Trump had mandated a yearly increase in fuel efficiency.

    • shaybisc on 22/11/2020 - 18:09
      +1

      By slashing the Obama target of 54mpg by 2025 to 40mpg by 2026. Trump wanted zero improvements in fuel efficiency in coming years but he compromised.

      • Emerald Owl on 22/11/2020 - 21:33
        -1

        All part of the negotiation.

  • popsiee on 22/11/2020 - 18:13

    Sorry to tell you OP your biggest risk is the Respectable Gentlemen that hang around these places like a bad smell when your not in your ivory castle !

    • matt3 on 22/11/2020 - 20:32

      The biggest risk is the easy (though overpriced) access to sugar products that will tempt you at all hours.

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