the local utility company secretly sprayed a massive amount of herbicide near it's tranmissions lines

[Wheezer]

sounds to me like someone needed a story to pay the bills this month and made a mountain out of a mole hill...go figure.

 

[nerp]

Looks like a generation of unaware posters never read Silent Spring.

 

[Rubycon]

Originally posted by: Random Variable


The transmission lines are very high. There nothing like the ones in that that video.

But regardless, why couldn't they just cut down the problem trees? Why did they have to resort to total devegetation (trees, bushes, grasses, etc.)?

Neglected tree trimming is what caused the 2003 blackout. The pylons are high and the runs are long and the wires can sag pretty low when summer time demand hits peak. All it takes is one time.

This started in Ohio and in just minutes power plants all the way into southern Canada down through upstate New York were off the grid.

Imagine if terrorists planted tracfone bombs¹ to 750kV pylons strategically in these areas and put all the numbers on a magic jack on speed dial during the hottest day of the summer! :shocked:

______________

¹ search if you don't know what this means for it will not be discussed here.

 

[SparkyJJO]

Originally posted by: Rubycon

Originally posted by: Random Variable


The transmission lines are very high. There nothing like the ones in that that video.

But regardless, why couldn't they just cut down the problem trees? Why did they have to resort to total devegetation (trees, bushes, grasses, etc.)?

Neglected tree trimming is what caused the 2003 blackout. The pylons are high and the runs are long and the wires can sag pretty low when summer time demand hits peak. All it takes is one time.

This started in Ohio and in just minutes power plants all the way into southern Canada down through upstate New York were off the grid.

Imagine if terrorists planted tracfone bombs¹ to 750kV pylons strategically in these areas and put all the numbers on a magic jack on speed dial during the hottest day of the summer! :shocked:

______________

¹ search if you don't know what this means for it will not be discussed here.

I thought they had circuit breakers and fuses and stuff to protect against this kind of thing?

 

[Random Variable]

Neglected tree trimming is what caused the 2003 blackout.

We're talking about total devegetation, not tree trimming.

 

[Tiamat]

As was mentioned on an earlier page, Garlon 3 is manufacturered by Dow, and the Triclopyr active ingredient has been classified by the EPA as practically nontoxic to mammals, insects, fish, and invertebrates 1.

 

[marvdmartian]

I think the big complaint they have now is with the huge swath of ugly they created with their spraying (maybe trimming everything down first would've been a better idea?), plus the fact that now all that dead vegetation is nothing more than great fire tinder in the dead of summer. Wouldn't take anything at all to get it going, ya know??

Oh well, beats when I lived in Guam, and the local government paid their workers to beautify the island by planting trees. Some brilliant planning on someone's part had them planting them directly under the power lines running down Marine Drive! :roll:

 

[PlasmaBomb]

Originally posted by: KLin
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triclopyr

http://www.dowagro.com/ivm/forestry/prod/garlon3a.htm

 

[PlasmaBomb]

Originally posted by: Rubycon
Tree limbs MUST be well clear of transmission lines. During high demand conductors heat up and sag. If they sag into trees a fault develops. If they trip off and neighboring circuits take the load and they sag into limbs problems multiply and things can get out of control very quickly. This is what caused the blackout in 2003.

It does not take much to create a phase to phase fault!

50Hz sounds awesome!

I think the main concern here with the widespread use of a herbicide is the fire risk is greatly augmented once the vegetation dries out. Ironically a fire beneath a transmission line will also cause a fault as flames are conductive! :Q

Boom

Also -

Watch out Jason...

 

[Rubycon]

Originally posted by: SparkyJJO

I thought they had circuit breakers and fuses and stuff to protect against this kind of thing?

They do and they worked as designed. Of course isolating power plants across several states is not something you want to do!

Originally posted by: Random Variable

Neglected tree trimming is what caused the 2003 blackout.

We're talking about total devegetation, not tree trimming.

Perhaps they are doing this to save money as regular trimming requires a PM schedule. See the video posted earlier of helicopter maintenance. This is dangerous and expensive! By using a deforestation agent future PM work may not be required. The brush should be removed to prevent fires though.

 

[skyking]

Originally posted by: marvdmartian
I think the big complaint they have now is with the huge swath of ugly they created with their spraying (maybe trimming everything down first would've been a better idea?), plus the fact that now all that dead vegetation is nothing more than great fire tinder in the dead of summer. Wouldn't take anything at all to get it going, ya know??

Oh well, beats when I lived in Guam, and the local government paid their workers to beautify the island by planting trees. Some brilliant planning on someone's part had them planting them directly under the power lines running down Marine Drive! :roll:

Doing it the "cost effective" way smacks of Viet Nam and Agent Orange to the folks who live next to it, I would think.
The government and chemical companies endorsed the use of DDT and other dangerous chemicals over the years, only to discover late the errors of their ways.
I too would be pissed that they did not just cut the trees down instead.

 

[lxskllr]

The cost effective way for me to get rid of my used motor oil is to dump it in the storm drain....

 

[Rubycon]

Cable car redefined

:Q

 

[PlasmaBomb]

Originally posted by: skyking

Originally posted by: marvdmartian
I think the big complaint they have now is with the huge swath of ugly they created with their spraying (maybe trimming everything down first would've been a better idea?), plus the fact that now all that dead vegetation is nothing more than great fire tinder in the dead of summer. Wouldn't take anything at all to get it going, ya know??

Oh well, beats when I lived in Guam, and the local government paid their workers to beautify the island by planting trees. Some brilliant planning on someone's part had them planting them directly under the power lines running down Marine Drive! :roll:

Doing it the "cost effective" way smacks of Viet Nam and Agent Orange to the folks who live next to it, I would think.
The government and chemical companies endorsed the use of DDT and other dangerous chemicals over the years, only to discover late the errors of their ways.
I too would be pissed that they did not just cut the trees down instead.

DDT really isn't that bad

 

[destrekor]

Originally posted by: Rubycon
Cable car redefined

:Q

i take it the power lines must be off? isn't there an issue with crossing lines? isn't that exactly what one of those cars is doing when it rides on two lines?

interesting

 

[feralkid]

Originally posted by: PlasmaBomb

Originally posted by: skyking

Originally posted by: marvdmartian
I think the big complaint they have now is with the huge swath of ugly they created with their spraying (maybe trimming everything down first would've been a better idea?), plus the fact that now all that dead vegetation is nothing more than great fire tinder in the dead of summer. Wouldn't take anything at all to get it going, ya know??

Oh well, beats when I lived in Guam, and the local government paid their workers to beautify the island by planting trees. Some brilliant planning on someone's part had them planting them directly under the power lines running down Marine Drive! :roll:

Doing it the "cost effective" way smacks of Viet Nam and Agent Orange to the folks who live next to it, I would think.
The government and chemical companies endorsed the use of DDT and other dangerous chemicals over the years, only to discover late the errors of their ways.
I too would be pissed that they did not just cut the trees down instead.

DDT really isn't that bad

Chug it, moose!

 

[moshquerade]

and if you listen real close you could hear the trees/shrubs crying, because they are human after all.

 

[Rubycon]

Originally posted by: destrekor

i take it the power lines must be off? isn't there an issue with crossing lines? isn't that exactly what one of those cars is doing when it rides on two lines?

interesting

There are three conductors per phase. Each triplet would be at the same potential. One would be safe staying on that phase although anything pointy is going to produce a corona that could tingle. Usually a helicopter takes the guys to the wires and a potential wire is touched to bring the airframe to the same potential as the wire. Most of the PM work on these lines is done hot these days because there's just too much demand to take a big circuit off line.

 

[Random Variable]

I took a drive around the area. Everything is a sickly rust color for about 3 miles.

 

[pontifex]

how is it a secret if it's in the news?

 

[Red Squirrel]

Originally posted by: Rubycon
Cable car redefined

:Q

I could see this being disastrous. "Hey I finally caught up with you. Can I borrow your spare chain saw, Mine is starting to act up"


Here the power line land is completely clear cutted, this is probably the best way of going about it. Just have people go there every few years to cut any new trees (which will be small).

Heck power companies could probably just contract out this type of work and have it cut down by forestry people, and they even get wood to ship out to the lumber companies. So it's win win.

Not only are chemicals bad, but assuming they are doing it from a plane, the chemicals also get on the power lines and I'm sure that's not really good.