Goats offered as alternative for clearing area of plutonium

A goat herder who has a college degree in weed sciences told federal wildlife officials that she could eliminate the need for a possible 700-acre controlled burn at the Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge by turning her goats loose there and eliminate concerns over spreading radioactive plutonium.

Lani Malmberg said it's unwise to burn land that has been exposed to the toxic metal, and she said her goats won't suffer any ill consequences.

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment on Jan. 20 issued a permit allowing for the burn in what is known as the South Woman Creek area at the southwestern edge of the refuge, near new housing developments.

Boulder City Councilwoman Lisa Morzell said officials are concerned that the animals would have to be euthanized, and there would be protests from animal rights people. She said those concerns are unfounded.

"Why would you have to euthanize them?" Morzell asked. "They are not used for milk or meat, they are used for grazing. And the individual that owns these goats is able to make a sufficient income that way. They are not intended for dairy or for meat."

Yahoo News

The Rocky Flats Plant, a former U.S. nuclear weapons production facility located about 15 miles northwest of Denver, caused radioactive (primarily plutonium, americium, and uranium) contamination within and outside its boundaries.[1]

The contamination primarily resulted from two major plutonium fires in 1957 and 1969 (plutonium is pyrophoric and shavings can spontaneously combust) and from wind-blown plutonium that leaked from barrels of radioactive waste. Much lower concentrations of radioactive isotopes were released throughout the operational life of the plant from 1952 to 1992, from smaller accidents and from normal operational releases of plutonium particles too small to be filtered.

Prevailing winds from the plant carried airborne contamination south and east, into populated areas northwest of Denver.

Rocy Flats Nuclear Plant

First of all, I'm sorry for the folks dealing with the burning of possibly contaminated land, near their homes. ( I would never have purchased a home nearby though).

I don't see how she could claim there would be no harm to the goats:

Ingestion or inhalation of large amounts may cause acute radiation poisoning and death

Wiki

As far as the goats, why would they not have to be euthanized? If they suffer down the road from radiation sickness and/or cancers, that would be the humane thing to do.

Apparently her goats could make some good income from this, and maybe this is all she is concerned about.

But burning this land and risking millions being exposed? That's not the answer in my opinion.

The goats might instinctively know it's poison and run.

Let's hope so.

What happens when we get Goat-Hulk?
It COULD happen...

Most likely, goat abortions will be exponential, but the first goat at the petting zoo that tells my kids "Get your hands off of me you Damn Dirty Human!", I'm running...

a reply to: tinker9917

Burning the area will be damaging to wildlife.

Using the goats will be damaging to wildlife(er goat life).

I say go with whichever is the lesser of two evils here. I would imagine that burning would be a better option as it might kill the roots as well. Unless the goats plan on taking up permanent residence.

goats: i'm radio-ac-ac-ac-tive.

a reply to: ~Lucidity

Radiation isn't technically poison per say. It's just really powerful energy that destroys parts of your DNA, which would be like deleting a vital paragraph in a paper and trying to understand the meaning afterward. Usually our bodies can fix and repair the damaged parts but sometimes if it's too powerful(or if our bodies lose the ability to repair) we can have significant issues stemming from the damage(i.e. cancer).

I suppose the potential damage depends on the amount that is expected to be ingested and the lifespan of the animal in question.

The atolls where the atomic bomb was tested are still too radioactive for human habitation, but they have thriving populations of rats. The lifespan of the rat is short enough that the exposure to contamination presumably does not cause the same degree of damage to them over their brief span that it would to a human over the much longer lifespan.

So I guess if you let the herd graze off the contaminated vegetation and that is the only exposure they have, it's possible there wouldn't be enough damage done in the span of the goat's life to adversely affect it, but I'd want to see the science on it.

a reply to: OrphanApology

Well yeah...point remains...hope they'd instinctively know and run from that.

a reply to: ~Lucidity
Sure. If their built in Geiger counters work. To bad Madame Curie didn't have one of those.

Apparently, life on Earth evolved without such equipment.

a reply to: Phage

Animals can sense all sorts of things less evolved humans can't.

And they actually survived quite nicely as intended until they met stupid humans who just want to make money at their expense.

a reply to: ~Lucidity

Animals can sense all sorts of things less evolved humans can't.

Yeah. Better hearing, sense of smell, night vision. But they seem to poison themselves pretty well in spite of that. They don't really know what's bad for them, until they give it a try.
extension.usu.edu...

And they actually survived quite nicely as intended until they met stupid humans who just want to make money at their expense.

God gave man dominion over the animals (says so right there in the Bible) and we've been taking advantage of it since before there was money.

Seems to me a burn will inevitably spread out the radioactive material further. The goats would at least keep the radiation contained to that area. Goats generally live about 17 years so that may not be enough time to have a major effect on them. I am sure the ones she plans to use are about mid-life anyway. I read about that lady she has a lot of government clearing contracts in restricted areas across the country and probably hundreds of goats. Since goats don't need a security clearance they work great for restricted areas clearing brush.

The area must be so overgrown it is a fire concern so those are the best options. Controlled burn or goats. I vote goat.

originally posted by: Phage
a reply to: ~Lucidity

Animals can sense all sorts of things less evolved humans can't.

Yeah. Better hearing, sense of smell, night vision. But they seem to poison themselves pretty well in spite of that. They don't really know what's bad for them, until they give it a try.
extension.usu.edu...

And they actually survived quite nicely as intended until they met stupid humans who just want to make money at their expense.

God gave man dominion over the animals (says so right there in the Bible) and we've been taking advantage of it since before there was money.

You're pulling the bible card? Rolls eyes.

I figure they're entitled to live here on this just as much as we are. Maybe even more so.

a reply to: ~Lucidity

You're pulling the bible card?

Not really.

Just pointing out that people have always used animals, since long before there was money. The Bible passage just provides "justification" (God said we're supposed to do it). I was replying to your statement about money.

Perhaps they could just plant the area in hemp and let the hemp take up whatever poisons are in the soil. I believe this method has been used in Canada. Don't have time at present to look up the studies.

a reply to: diggindirt

Then you end up with plutonium contaminated hemp.

Actually, mushrooms do a better job.
discovermagazine.com...

a reply to: ~Lucidity

Goats aren't very intelligent. They'll eat anything. We had to remove our azaleas because they can be lethal and the goats loved them.

ETA: actually "goats aren't very intelligent" is a major under statement. If I had a dollar for every time I had to help a goat get out of a tin garbage can it fell head first into...

a reply to: JessicaRabbitTx

If I had a dollar for every time I had to help a goat get out of a tin garbage can it fell head first into...

I'll give you a dollar for a video.

a reply to: Phage

Oh man I might at least have a pic on Facebook. I'll go look.
We gave ours away last summer when we moved but may get some more soon. They're way better than a brush hog.

a reply to: Phage

Some plants and fungi have an affinity for taking up some things. I know they say you should make very, very sure you don't plant asparagus anywhere near an old apple orchard or treated wood because the asparagus will suck up the arsenic that's been used and be poisonous.

It doesn't surprise me in the least that there are plants that would do the same with plutonium.

Isn't it Brazil nuts that are so efficient at hoarding radioactive elements of one sort of another that they can set off the radiation detectors at nuke plants?