someone dumped motor oil

fishhead · #21 10/11/13, 04:28 PM

You could build a brush pile and put the dirt in the center of it. Then light it up and walk away so you don't breathe any of the smoke. That little bit in the middle of a hot fire won't do much. Otherwise just spread it out and let nature deal with it.

1shotwade · #22 10/11/13, 04:38 PM

Lots of things have change in recent years but the old time use for used motor oil was to spray or drip it down the fence line to keep growth down. It would last one year and everything started growing back.Also people living on a gravel road(and a lot of people did back then) would strain it fresh out of the car and spray it on the road to keep the dust down. In the winter it was used on the driveway to melt the snow and ice. Works very well because black absorbs the suns heat.The road crews today oil and chip blacktop roads every 3rd year and also spray oil on the gravel roads every year.There is never any noticeable damage to crops or grass or anything else.If the oil is in direct contact with a plant it will kill it and keep others from growing for about 1 year(as in treating fence lines).Other that that, today we're getting the environmentalists "spin " on things to help promote their own cause.I'm not saying oil is good for the environment but it's not as bad as they want to make it seem. Everyone around here had a well for water and no one had it contaminated by oil.
We should take care of the environment but don't tell me a bunch of lies to try and convince me that your cause is the most important thing going.We all have minds and can figure it out for our self as long as we hear the truth instead of "spin"

edcopp · #23 10/11/13, 04:47 PM

What fishead said, only stack up 2 or three old tires on the brush. Burn all of that. The tires will burn real hot and consume all the oil. Done deal.

bowdonkey · #24 10/11/13, 05:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by edcopp

What fishead said, only stack up 2 or three old tires on the brush. Burn all of that. The tires will burn real hot and consume all the oil. Done deal.

And don't forget the vinyl siding!

arabian knight · #25 10/11/13, 06:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stephen in SOKY

I'd think very carefully before threatening my rural neighbors with anything related to the EPA.

Ya sure would not be doing anything like that. And besides gee roads are Covered with Thick oil and Tar. They Spray it on then put those little stones on top to work into the liquid tar, but you sure can see the "over spray", all along MILES of the roadway, where grasses and weeds grow. Big Deal.
Gee and That breaks down I sure would get all upset by some motor oil spill even if it was thick. Old side roads are covered with a lot worse things then that and grass and weeds come back as if nothing ever happened.

joebill · #26 10/11/13, 07:21 PM

One of the things they do with dirt that is contaminated with oil is spread it and till in turkey manuer, turn it a few times over a short time span and call it good.

I hate the scare tactics common today. Anybody ever stop to ask where oil comes from?

i mean, come on!........Joe

Molly Mckee · #27 10/11/13, 10:22 PM

Are you sure that the oil or paint or whatever it is wasn't buried in the bags of grass? Why would anyone bother to dump that small amount of oil on a neighbors property?

wannabechef · #28 10/11/13, 10:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bowdonkey

And don't forget the vinyl siding!

If you have an old fiberglass hot tub you could burn it too!

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wannabechef · #29 10/11/13, 10:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by joebill

One of the things they do with dirt that is contaminated with oil is spread it and till in turkey manuer, turn it a few times over a short time span and call it good.

I hate the scare tactics common today. Anybody ever stop to ask where oil comes from?

i mean, come on!........Joe

Oil comes from dinosaur poop...

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bowdonkey · #30 10/11/13, 11:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wannabechef

If you have an old fiberglass hot tub you could burn it too!

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Old snowmobile hoods are probably similar. I've seen them burn.

am1too · #31 10/11/13, 11:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jenn

legal in my state to dispose of the dirt in regular trash. The state envir. dept sugg I let folks know who'll recycle oil. Express Oil does, for free. The Dept Env Man is going to send someone out when able (next week even) but wants me to dig it up before the next rain to protect my well and the river.

It isn't going any place unless the rain does a major erosion. They used to spray oil on dirt roads for dust control. The water and surrounding area have not been hurt. Now if someone dumped a drum of oil I might be very concerned.

California used to spray the bar ditch with oil to control weeds. Guess what weeds still grow there after years of spraying and the area water supply isn't contaminated either.

Harry Chickpea · #32 10/11/13, 11:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wannabechef

Oil comes from dinosaur poop...

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Nope. It is more basic than that. I used to think the same thing. Coal - carbon, swamp stuff - oil. It predates life.

Fire-Man · #33 10/12/13, 12:15 AM

I turned over 12 gallons of transmission fluid and oil mixed but did not realize it till several days later. When I found it I poured a little gas on the oil and set it on fire, smoked like crazy. I kept turning the dirt a little with a rake while it was burning and I kept throwing a few more ounces of gas on the spot. You can not tell it at all now because the grass quickly covered the spot so I feel I got most of the oil burnt out the dirt.

Common Tator · #34 10/12/13, 12:25 AM

They used to oil roads to keep the dust down. They had to reapply it periodically, because it needed it. I think the oil disappated naturally.

biggkidd · #35 10/12/13, 05:56 PM

Lots of people use used motor oil mixed w/ diesel in a garden sprayer to get brush and stump piles burning too. I would burn it myself just build a wood fire over it get a nice bed of coals and stir up the oily dirt.

Larry
A World Away

pinfeather · #36 10/12/13, 06:51 PM

Some people bought an old junkyard outside of town and cleaned it up by hauling away the old junk cars and metal stuff. It's now a pumpkin patch and corn maze and is a popular field trip spot for school-agers. They get their halloween pumpkins and spend a few hours drinking cider, running through the corn maze, riding around on a tractor.

We went with the oldest grandson last year and bought a pumpkin from the exact spot DH says he saw the old owner dump a bunch of oil.

I definitely would put the neighbors on notice, but wouldn't be overly worried about the oil that's there now.

texican · #37 10/12/13, 07:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Harry Chickpea

I wouldn't get overwrought. The concept of keeping used oil under control is a good one, but a lot of the reaction is over the top. When I was growing up, the highway department used to oil the roads with used oil to pack the dirt and prevent dust. That oil was a LOT dirtier, with lead and other contaminants. To the best of my knowledge, they haven't removed the roads. It did NOT:
Create an oil slick on surface water up to 8 acres in size
Contaminate 1 million gallons of freshwater (one year’s supply of water for 50 people)
Render a 4-acre area of soil unusable for planting for decades"

I loathe sites like the one quoted as the overstatements induce fear and panic and are hyperbole at best. Pure horsedung that anyone older than a child should recognize as same.

I like the idea of collecting for recycling, and FWIW, diesel engines were DESIGNED to operate on a variety of oils. Particle filter the used oil and it can be used as fuel, especially in an old hit-n-miss.

The oil on the ground near the road is an annoyance, but if you do nothing, in the next dozen years or so the soil bacteria will digest a lot, some will evaporate, and life will go on.

Growing up?

They still do it here.

arabian knight · #38 10/12/13, 07:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by texican

Growing up?

They still do it here.

They sure are doing it here as well. Just three weeks ago a mile from me one of the country roads not only had that liquid oil put down but you can see the "Overspray" on the weeds and grasses on the shoulder.
Then they spread tiny stones on the oil/tar and then they get worked in and it makes a pretty good road surface for a number of years.

joebill · #39 10/12/13, 09:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wannabechef

Oil comes from dinosaur poop...

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More to the point, it comes from the ground.......Sent from my can on a string....

......Joe

Jolly · #40 10/13/13, 10:03 AM

Old timers down here would take crude oil, mix it with a bit of diesel fuel and spray it directly on their unpainted board and batten houses. It would work for a half-dozen years and then they would reapply.

Never knew anybody to get sick from it....