Farmwithjunk
Super Member
Soundguy said:
Infinately small traces CAN be "lifted" as you mention. But, How much more/less is produced during the manufacturing process, transportation and delivery and final disposal of empty containers/application brush, ect, of the asphalt paint (petroleum based) you're suggesting? Also, the asphalt paint DOES break down in sunlight, will wear off in time, and probably has as much "environmental harm" contained in it as my motor oil, albiet not the SAME chemical make-up as the oil's "harm". Not mentioned as a "downer" on your suggestion, but as an example of how ANYTHING we do effects the environment in some shape or form. What we do as proper stewards of the earth is to MINIMIZE exposure to environmental damage. I'd contend my method probably doesn't adversly effect the environment any more, and possibly less than using an asphalt paint product or any other PETROLEUM based sealer. (ie, use the compounds we already have created rather than create additional NEW compounds, all the while still having to deal with those old products)
HOW WE DO WHAT WE DO is the key here. When I put the oil on the trailer deck, I do so in certain conditions. Cool, but not cold weather. That allows the oil to soak in without evaporating the diesel fuel in the mix. (rather than in hot sunlight) I always wait for 4 or 5 really dry days, with a few dry days to follow. That minimizes the moisture in the wood so as not to interfere with the oil's soaking into the wood, then to limit the possibility of it washing away until it's completely penetrated the wood.
In the final analysis, I'd much rather see my used oil on a trailer deck than what probably happens to a great deal of this nations used oils. Far safer my way than simply dumping it on the driveway like far too many people will do. By applying the oil/diesel mix in a safe, responsible manner, there's probably somewhere next to zero chance of it adding a measurable/detectable volume of contaminates to the soil, water or air. No more or less so than with any other product that could be used in it's place.
Being in the construction industry, in particular, working for a contractor that builds schools, hospitals, and government buildings, I've read file cabinets full of documents on CCA contamination. One of the most interesting stories I recall was from a Missouri beef cattle farmer who built a new deck on the back of his home. He took the scrap lumber to a sink hole in one of his pastures and burnt it. He later shoved a couple partial round bales of hay over the burn spot to cover it up. Some of his cattle ate the hay, cleaning it up clear to the ground. A few weeks later, he had dead cows. Extremely high concentrations of CCA was determined to be the cause of death. They got it from the ashes of the scrap lumber.
Again, ANYTHING we do effects the envirnoment in a negative way. Without resorting to Al Gore propaganda techniques, think of it in these terms. You're out on the road. You want something to drink. You pull into a gas station and buy a bottle of water. Most likely, that water is not much more (if anything at all more) than simple tap water. No environmental damage, huh? Guess again. What about that PLASTIC bottle? How much harm was done to make that bottle? How much pollution did it add the the air to get that bottle to the gas station? What about the CFC-based refridgeration system that kept that water cool? And where will that bottle end up when you're all done with it?
My point is, do anything SAFELY and RESPONSIBLY, you reduce the impact possibly to immeasurable levels. Do anything without considering the harm you may be doing and nothing is without environmental hazzard.
. It also weighs a lot more than the pt stuff so you will be adding weight to the trailer
