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Dealing with a 1-2 gallon spill of hydraulic fluid onto a residential street.
Posted by Amber from Cody, WY, US on May 21, 2008
Our neighborhood recently received a delivery of sod, distributed by a small lift tractor whose hydraulics failed and spilled approx. one or two gallons of fluid onto the street. People in the neighborhood immediately flooded the area with Dawn dish detergent and water, washing the stuff down the gutter and into a deep drainage pit. A couple of questions come to mind; how toxic is the soil where the mixture has seeped down into the rocky/clay blend soil in regards to pets and humans using that area and, if it is indeed really nasty, how long do we avoid that area? Also, is there anything else we can do to alleviate the situation? Thanks!
An oil spil of any tyype is never good, and flushing it into the water system also not ideal. The contractor who's equipment failed should have carried out a complete clean up which would have been to clean up excess, then clean with a strong detergent and plenty of water, avoiding any ingress into the water system.
However, the residue that you have is there, without knowing what type of oil is used it is dificult to be accurate, but assuming that the oil is a normal hydraulic fluid the area will not be dangerously toxic. Most hydraulic oils are biodegradable to some extent, and the residue will be fully degraded within 90 days.
