What's that black stuff floating in water in my USE to be garden? Clampet's Are us or WHAT is THIS????

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Hey need some input here folks, please. I went out this evening to check on my semerged by mother nature garden and it looks like much of a loss after that tropical storm rains. Okay, I'll deal with that, but noticed the puddles were shinning and then seen black sludge water standing every where. Noticed black sludge, like fresh oil poured every where! Plants are even black. Did a finger swipe and it turn up on my finger a reddish black oil'esh residue. Smells like oil. Now garden is in a secluded spot in the woods, no oil spells here, not even ship accessable. What the heck is this? Are we the Clampet's without a gun or what??? I tried so hard this year to be total organic in this garden, first year for us here, but this area has only been a resident for umpteen years. Waht a flop huh? I'm crushed and it wasn't from all the rains....I sank in the oil sludge. Guess I'm asking does natural crude oil do this? Any body know? I really just wanted a natural garden REAL bad!!!!

-- Debb in LA. (fly45@bellsouth.net), June 12, 2001

Answers

Deb I don't know what is in your garden spot but what I would do is take a soil sample in to your nearest state cooperative service I'm sure they could tell you. When you find out please put it in forum I would like to know too. Good luck and don't give up.

-- Wynema (nemad_72039@yahoo.com), June 13, 2001.

Yes, take it to the extension agent, but in the meantime, doesn't crude oil burn? If you dipped a papertowel or rag into it and tossed it into a burning barrel, you could try lighting it and see what happens...just a little bit, don't want to singe your eyebrows off!

-- julie f. (rumplefrogskin@excite.com), June 13, 2001.

Crude wouldn't do that. Sounds like the flooding stirred up an old dump. This is more common than you think. Quite a few places out there where many years ago they buried toxic waste. Alot of didn't know better farmers took that easy cash to let companies bury barrels back then. Barrels are rusting out all over the place and only takes one disruption like a flood to bring it up. County or government anything is the last place I'd call because if it does turn out to be toxic waste, you'll be in a bigger nightmare than you could imagine. Once they find toxic waste, they'll take over your whole property, have the epa and god knows what else out there and then send you a huge bill and i mean huge and then if you have no good neighbors and they find out, the lawsuits will come. Believe me, quite a few been wiped out by things like this. Look in the phone book for a local analytical lab. Quite a few around that do water and soil testing. Put some in a jar and take it in to be tested. It's worth the cost. If they ask, tell them you found a jar of the substance in your barn and you're wondering what it is. Most labs understand how the government works and won't ask questions. I'm telling you, do not get the government involved whether county guys or whatever.

-- April (atobias@yahoo.com), June 13, 2001.

If crude oil doesn't burn, then how do oil wells catch on fire??

-- julie f. (rumplefrogskin@excite.com), June 13, 2001.

I suspect it is oil from domestic sources. Bubba changes oil in the pickup and just pours it on the ground behind the barn. A fuel oil talk floats away and spills its contents. Oil from flooded lawnmowers, farm equipment and vehicles. As noted, it could also come from a flooded farm dump.

I also suspect if you just let the ground dry out and then scrap off the top inch or so of soil, you can removed most of the oil from the garden area. The ground will eventually recover. Look at Prince Edwards Sound after the Exxon Valdies (spelling?) spill. It has almost completely recovered.

-- Ken S. in WC TN (scharabo@aol.com), June 13, 2001.



Thanks folks, for all your suggestions. I was in such shock, I couldn't think of any thing. I agree so much with April here on this matter. Lot of good points there April, Thanks! Fortunately I am renting here with consideration of buying and my garden was next to us on another piece of property with permission to do so, also it is for sale and we had hoped some day we would have acess to more land to buy. What a wake up! Now I know for sure I won't buy here. I'm afraid to even drink the water now. Such a shame to destory land like that. Many years ago there was a house on the property, it burnt and the property has just sat there since. Never know if someone just choose it being back in the woods to start an oil dump or not? Scarier thought now is WHAT else is there that we can't see? Really goes to show that if we hadn't started to protect our lands now this mess would be happening every where. I've learned a valueable lesson here, before I buy any where I'll ask for soil samples. Folks ya just can't believe what a shocker this truely is! Living back off here in the woods in a rural area, I just can't get over this, yuck! I'll be on the hunt for another home now and will inform my landlord as to why we're leaving. I just can't go off and take this sludge info with me and not tell the landlord. I'd feel as wrong in doing so as the person who put all that d### oil down.

Thanks a Zillion Good Folks. If any thing comes from this it is proof for future soil samples and organic, natural living to be kind to the lands today so that we can all live on them tomorrow too!

Bless Ya'll Have a Good safe summer, Debb "moving" from LA.

-- Debb in LA. (fly45@bellsouth.net), June 13, 2001.


Don't have any suggestions for your garden but just wanted you to know we were thinking of you! We got some of your "left over" water here in north alabama but thank goodness no flooding. But everything has been wet for weeks here and the big storm rains sure didn't help!

are you really moving or just temporarily disgusted???

-- Suzy in Bama (slgt@yahoo.com), June 13, 2001.


Dear Suzy in Bama, Thanks once again to you and all for your kind thoughts and inputs on my sludge situation. Yes, I believe a move is in order, I'm disgusted enough from this and mostly scared enough of what I don't see or know that could also be there because it is so close to the water well and house. Who knows which way the stuff will eventually drain or spread too? I sure don't wann'a cause friction with any one, in any way, any where here. I really believe this must have been done years ago and my landlord probably hasn't a clue of this either, it's not on his property but next to it.

I'm on to a greenier pasture, some where USA??

Thanks again to ALL, Debb

-- Debb (fly45@bellsouth.net), June 13, 2001.


Sorry Julie, I didn't mean crude wouldn't burn. I was referring to the situation Debb mentioned. Crude will burn a bit if you get it hot enough, but so will alot of toxic waste. I'm guessing it's either a waste dump, an old old tank or someones used oil dump that got stirred up. My main point was be very very careful getting involved with government agencies in these situations. You could open up a big can of worms and pay dearly.

-- April (atobias@yahoo.com), June 13, 2001.

It sounds like there is an old fuel oil tank left in the ground at the old homestead. you do not want to contact a government agency and you do not want to buy that property.

Julie, what mostly catches fire in an oil well is vapors.

-- Laura (LadybugWrangler@hotmail.com), June 18, 2001.



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