4 ms·

And where does all that contaminated waste water go?

by humaniania 5y ago

ianlevesque 5y ago
In many parts of the country they spray it on public roadways as "de-icer" in the winter.
- droopyEyelids 5y ago
  My friend recently learned that cities have been banning their rodent control teams from using dry ice to attack rat nests- even though it seems very effective when spending 1/10th the price of existing rodent solutions. They forbid the use of dry ice because it's not a registered pesticide. The friend immediately cursed the city, saying how this is an example of corruption, and whoever sells the traditional rat bait has someone's ear, and maybe their pocket, and we're all suffering because workers can't use the cheap, more effective solution. That of course has to be part of the story, but I always like to look beyond the easy cynical answer to this stuff, so over the following days my mind wandered to why we have a regulation that only registered pesticides can be used. And it dawned on me that there are a lot of things (like toxic waste) that will kill (at least) rats. Companies are currently forced to pay money to dispose of their toxic waste, but with the right connections, they could instead sell the toxic waste to their buddy in the rat-poisoning business to dispose of in alleys and planters across the city. Couldn't something like _that_ inspire the rule about registered pesticides? My friend said that I was actually the cynical one, and that my theory was beyond what was reasonably possible. But here we are, spraying the fracking fluid on the road as 'de-icer'
  - Dylan16807 5y ago
    It might inspire the rule, but it's a terrible way to write the rule. Restrictions on toxic chemicals shouldn't apply to non-toxic chemicals. CO2 is even on the list of safe food additives.
  - xkcd-sucks 5y ago
    Rats are pretty choosy/smart about what they eat, most "toxic waste" is not acutely toxic enough to kill rats before they birth several litters, and AFAIK no rodenticides are under patent (the most recent one, bromethalin, is a horrifying product of rational drug design optmizing for palatability and delayed action - still it was invented in the 1960s or something). So probably not in this case
- code_duck 5y ago
  Reminds me of how they used to spray motor oil on dirt roads to keep the dust down.
  - reustle 5y ago
    They still do something similar to this. It's awful for the paint of your car, and quite dangerous on a motorcycle. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chipseal https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chipseal
  - coolspot 5y ago
    Reminds me of how they used to spray Agent Orange on Vietnam to keep vegetation down.
missedthecue 5y ago
They water almonds with it in California
- beebeepka 5y ago
  Got a source for that? Guess I won't be buying more American almond if true
  - missedthecue 5y ago
    It's actually all types of Californian produce. https://earthjustice.org/blog/2015-september/california-produce-growing-strong-on-oil-water https://earthjustice.org/blog/2015-september/california-prod...
iancmceachern 5y ago
In the sites I've been involved with they often have wastewater disposal wells they use specifically for this, they just pump it into the ground. https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/how-and-where-do-drillers-dispose-waste-hydraulic-fracturing-fluid?qt-news_science_products=0# https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/how-and-where-do-drillers-dispose-...

And where does all that contaminated waste water go?

ianlevesque 5y ago

In many parts of the country they spray it on public roadways as "de-icer" in the winter.

droopyEyelids 5y ago
My friend recently learned that cities have been banning their rodent control teams from using dry ice to attack rat nests- even though it seems very effective when spending 1/10th the price of existing rodent solutions. They forbid the use of dry ice because it's not a registered pesticide. The friend immediately cursed the city, saying how this is an example of corruption, and whoever sells the traditional rat bait has someone's ear, and maybe their pocket, and we're all suffering because workers can't use the cheap, more effective solution. That of course has to be part of the story, but I always like to look beyond the easy cynical answer to this stuff, so over the following days my mind wandered to why we have a regulation that only registered pesticides can be used. And it dawned on me that there are a lot of things (like toxic waste) that will kill (at least) rats. Companies are currently forced to pay money to dispose of their toxic waste, but with the right connections, they could instead sell the toxic waste to their buddy in the rat-poisoning business to dispose of in alleys and planters across the city. Couldn't something like _that_ inspire the rule about registered pesticides? My friend said that I was actually the cynical one, and that my theory was beyond what was reasonably possible. But here we are, spraying the fracking fluid on the road as 'de-icer'
- Dylan16807 5y ago
  It might inspire the rule, but it's a terrible way to write the rule. Restrictions on toxic chemicals shouldn't apply to non-toxic chemicals. CO2 is even on the list of safe food additives.
- xkcd-sucks 5y ago
  Rats are pretty choosy/smart about what they eat, most "toxic waste" is not acutely toxic enough to kill rats before they birth several litters, and AFAIK no rodenticides are under patent (the most recent one, bromethalin, is a horrifying product of rational drug design optmizing for palatability and delayed action - still it was invented in the 1960s or something). So probably not in this case
code_duck 5y ago
Reminds me of how they used to spray motor oil on dirt roads to keep the dust down.
- reustle 5y ago
  They still do something similar to this. It's awful for the paint of your car, and quite dangerous on a motorcycle. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chipseal https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chipseal
- coolspot 5y ago
  Reminds me of how they used to spray Agent Orange on Vietnam to keep vegetation down.

missedthecue 5y ago

They water almonds with it in California

beebeepka 5y ago
Got a source for that? Guess I won't be buying more American almond if true
- missedthecue 5y ago
  It's actually all types of Californian produce. https://earthjustice.org/blog/2015-september/california-produce-growing-strong-on-oil-water https://earthjustice.org/blog/2015-september/california-prod...

iancmceachern 5y ago

In the sites I've been involved with they often have wastewater disposal wells they use specifically for this, they just pump it into the ground. https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/how-and-where-do-drillers-dispose-waste-hydraulic-fracturing-fluid?qt-news_science_products=0# https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/how-and-where-do-drillers-dispose-...