On Fri, 20 Oct 2006 13:25:48 -0500, "Wolfgang" wrote:


"Cyli" wrote in message
.. .
On 19 Oct 2006 16:37:44 -0700, "Wolfgang" wrote:




Nor too environmentally friendly, I should think.

Wolfgang

The Crowsnest River has an area where the bank is lined by ore cars.
They are filled in and overgrown now, but you can still see them. The
fishing isn't too bad in that spot either.

Oar cars. Hm.....

Presumably, you're referring to railroad cars. Take the trucks out
from under them and the're just steel boxes. Seems innocuous enough to
me. Automobiles are another matter entirely.


I'm under the impression that the cars for use that way have their
engines and probably gas tanks pulled before they go in the river.
Maybe a lot of their interiors, too, like the seats.

Even when everything but the body and frame is stripped, this still leaves
paint which can be host to a virtually limitless array of toxic substances
including (but by no means limited to) metallic oxides and sulfides and many
organic compounds. There is also a good chance that painted parts will be
prepped with a bonding agent....zinc chromate pickling is one of several
options, especially for powder-coated steel. Sundry waxes and plastics are
used to protect the finish. There will also be zinc on any remaining
galvanized parts. Lead, copper, zinc and cadmium are common components of
batteries. Presumably, all batteries have been removed but they may have
leaked before or during removal. Even if the engine compartment is steam
cleaned, there will almost certainly be propylene glycol and/or other
antifreeze/coolant residues. There will also be motor oil, brake fluid,
transmission fluid, window washer. All of these will also be present on the
undercarriage, along with bits of asphalt, gasoline additives, road paint
and a million other bits of unidentifiable filth.

Meanwhile, I'd bet a shiny new nickel that not all of the removable parts
have been taken out. A lot of stuff isn't salvageable and it takes a lot of
time to completely disassemble a car. Look at the underside of the hood on
your car. Odds are there is some sort of insulation there, used for noise
reduction. This may be fiberglass or some sort of plastic foam. These are
sometimes glued in place. No one is going to make certain that all of this
material (and the glue) is removed. There are hundreds (maybe thousands?)
of fasteners used in the manufacture of automobiles.....clips, snaps,
catches, Velcro, screws, rivets, staples, straps, grommets......all of these
made of rubber, plastics, leather, fabrics, etc. There are gaskets and
seals. There is weather stripping. The instrument panel probably contains
little if anything that anyone would want to salvage or recycle. It
contains some combination of greased gears, cables, LEDs, liquid crystals,
light bulbs, rheostats, resistors, capacitors, silicon chips,
phosphors.....maybe even a few radioactive bits. Carpeting, seat and
ceiling fabrics, that nasty cheap fabric-like stuff they line the inside of
the trunk with.....

.the list goes on and on and on.

And since it's you, it's somewhat surprising that it wasn't at least
twice as long and inaccurate...

....and "everyone" just "knows" how stolen cars are almost always found
with nothing missing but any loose valuables that the owner happened to
leave lying about...why, heck, "chop shops" became so named because of a
peculiar commonality: the folks involved in them seem to have a
voracious appetite for stuffed pork dishes...