| Archive for Downsizer For an ethical approach to consumption |
| Layla |
Is solid ASPHALT toxic?Neighbour putting it next to garden!So, the title says it all.Our neighbour is trying to strengthen the river bank (something the company in charge had been promising for decades!) We live in a flood area, by the river, so strengthening the bank is generally considered a good thing! He got the material 'for free' (& was happy about it!) - another neighbour had been digging to build a house, and was happy to get rid of these 'leftovers' too.. Mostly it's sand and probably okay, but not sure about all of it.. I'm not too happy with seeing him put chunks of asphalt in there, along with stones, brick & roofing parts & sand.. So far I said nothing, cause I wasn't sure if solid asphalt could be toxic too, or not-? Hot asphalt can be toxic, depending on the solvents used. http://www.afscme.org/issues/1363.cfm (and no, I have no idea what was used here - 'worst case scenarios' include toxic chemicals like benzene, dioxane or toluane.. Do those disaapear when it hardens or could they still be present & leak into water etc? There was some leakage mentioned from waste incinerator leftovers used as roadbuilding materials..) Didn't find any info about solid asphalt yet...? Is it okay or could it still be toxic? Anybody know anything about this, possibly with websites or links? Also, if he strengthenes the bank, would the river be more likely to 'eat up' our part of the bank? (half of our garden and compost heaps & some trees are in that area so we'd prefer to keep those instead of putting stones and sand there..) Any ideas welcome!! |
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| vegplot |
It's not a good strengthening material. The bitumen eventually breaks down and leaves stone loosely bound. I dare say it's not a great environmentally friendly material although I don't have any data either way. It's not something I'd use for this purpose. | ||
| dpack |
rubble is a mixed kettle of fish
asphalt is fairly stable and harmless as a flood barrier i would go for earth /stone/concrete/brick for mass with a deep layer of clay for pugging |
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| Brownbear |
It sounds like he's piling up a heap of old junk that will get washed into the stream, block it, and thus make the flooding worse. | ||
| stumbling goat |
would the environment agency have an input here if you contacted them?
i think any unsuitable material that may cause pollution would concern them even in a small river or stream as they all lead to bigger rivers and streams. as for creating issues for your stretch of stream, any strengthening will mean that water causes problems at the weakest point, so any reinforcing work needs to be done with this in mind for the surrounding areas. hj |
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| gz |
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