Neighbor dumped gasoline in yard, now chickens are dying, HELP!

[Msbear]

 

[PurpleChicken]

Why did your neighbor do this? Was it an accident?

How do you know it was a gallon.

Yes, technically one gallon can pollute a lot of water but gasoline also evaporates quickly, especially in the high heat. Gas spills on the surface aren't that toxic, especially only a gallon.

2 bird deaths a week apart from gasoline seems unlikely to me. Do the birds have any other symptoms?

 

[peaceful]

When I was researching toxins I came across a statement saying that the most toxic thing we come across in our daily lives is gasoline. I ceratinly consider it toxic and think it is related to the problems with your birds.

 

[peteandizzysmom]

Hi everyone,

Thank you so much for your thoughtful replies. These neighbors were friends of ours, and the dumping was not an accident, just people being stupid. They moved across country last week and this was just one thing on a long list of unbelievable things they did including borrowing our car without telling me and abandoning it in front of the airport with the back hatch open (and then getting on a plane)! I'm still trying to figure out why they didn't just give us the gas to use in our mower instead of trying to dispose of it by dumping it out in their yard! We share a fence line and although the dumping occurred about 20 feet from the fence the water they flooded the yard with ran straight down into our yard and pooled in the chicken run. There doesn't seem to be much loss of grass and plant life in the surrounding area (although the area around the fence and coop is already just dirt), so I'm not sure how bad it could have been and won't know unless/until I test the soil. My father-in-law who has some experience with hazardous spills said that it is unlikely the chickens are continuing to be poisoned at this time because gas evaporates very quickly in high heat, but the two birds dying a week apart could still have been from the initial spill because some animals will take longer to die than others after being exposed. We are not eating their eggs at this time, and I am hoping we are through the worst of it, as the other chickens seem healthy and active and show no signs of poisoning or other illness. My other reaction was that this had something to do with the high temperatures we've been having, but I can't imagine it was just the heat that killed the other birds, it has been hot here since March, and they have been fine. They have plenty of ventilation and access to water 24 hours a day. The only thing it could be is this gasoline incident, or an illness that came on suddenly and showed no signs...

I am watching the rest of our hens carefully and keeping an eye on the garden and fruit trees. I think I will go ahead and have the soil tested just to be sure. There's really no use reporting my neighbors, though I was sorely tempted, as they have already moved and won't be causing problems like this anymore.

Thank you all for your help and I will keep you posted!

 

[dichotomymom]

What on earth? I just thought they were being irresponsible when I read your first post but with the other things they did, it sure sounds like they wanted to be out of the area as quickly as possible.

 

[Amyable]

Quote:

That is stunning. I hope your flock is healthy now.

 

[SallyF]

And do say a prayer of thanks every night that you no longer have stupid people like that living next door! What state did they move to, so that the rest of us can be on the lookout?

 

[katharinad]

Call your local fire depart on their non emergency phone line and ask them what you should do. I bet they will send someone out to access the situation and to take soil samples. This may be covered by your taxes, and if not your homeowner insurance may cover it. Don't do the testing on your own, unless they advise you to do so.

 

[zDoc]

If it was me I'd find a way to replace the top 6 inches to 1 foot of soil just to be on the safe side. Sorry for your loss.

 

[PurpleChicken]

Before calling any authorities over 1 gallon of gas I'd think about it a little more. Once tests are done if there is even a TINY level VOCs picked up your county may require a cleanup. That could also become a public record and severely affect the property value of your home. If we were talking about 50 gallons or more this would be a different story.

I'm not trying to minimize this but I'm also trying to put it in a reasonable perspective. If someone spilled a gallon of gas on or near my property I would be ticked and might even require them to clean it up. The trouble is these people are now gone and trying to get them to pay could be a nightmare, again over a single gallon of gas. It's just not worth it.

Over the years I have seen hundreds of gallons of diesel, heating oil, and other hydrocarbons spilled. As long as it's not enough to hit the groundwater, and a gallon isn't, it's not the catastrophe some would make it out to be.