Look it guys, Caustic is extremely BAD for the environment. If you do not recover every gram, every mixed drop that is absorbed into the cement, when it rains, it will go to the storm drains.
According to our EPA out here in N. California, they will find you by the streams that are dead. They will trace the chemical location back to the source. They will investigate it and find the location that it was used at. Then put pressure on the owner of the property, your customer. Find out that you did it and fine you both, the owner and you in excess of $10,000 ea. Oh ya, the customer will love you for that one.
Also, your basic insurance will not cover any damage to the environment caused by you from putting a known chemical down the storm drain that is label corrosive, or danger to the environment. You need to have a clause in your insurance saying that you are using chemicals that will harm the environment. and when you get that clause in writing, if they are dumb enough to cover anyone who freely admits to their insurance of using the stuff and pouring down the storm drain unchecked, then the insurance company would be on the hook for the whole ball of wax. I would love to see that policy and the $$$ amounts that they would cover. It would have to have coverage in 10 million or more would be my guess. As far as the yearly premium costs, well, just forget about your 1,500 a year for insurance for 2- 5 million which the big boys wants you to carry. Try raising it up to 50k a year plus for a AAA insurance company, and ONLY if you have been certified by the state to haul it and approved to use it by Haze Mat. Then having a writing procedure on how you plain to use it safely with reclamation of the product filed with the state and on the truck, for anyone who requests to see it, at the location where you are using it.
Now I am sure that everyone on this board is following the Federal guidelines when using this toxic chemical. Ya right.
They only way you can use caustic in California, is if you reclaim every drop. Rinse with a pressure washer the surface that the chemical was applied to, then neutralize the area with a weak acid. Then take your reclamation of the caustic, bring the PH down to 10 to 11 Ph, depending on the Sanitation District you have a permit with, and dump it only then in controlled amounts.
Caustic is a great cleaner, however, handling, reclamation, possible fines, environmental issues and the permits make it a very difficult chemical to use properly under uncontrolled, unconfined situations.
This chemical will kill everything that is alive, if giving the chance.
As far as plant life, if the area has a low PH factor in the soil ( 5.0), mixed with enough 7.0 water ( extremely Diluted), you might be alright to the plant life in those extreme cases.
This is what the EPA says to us about chemicals:
1) Take a 1 gallon fish bowl, fill 3/4 with fresh tap water.
2) Put 3 gold fish in the tank.
3) Mix you chemical like you usually would.
4) Pour the amount of mixed chemical that you would use in the same giving area.
5) If the fish die in 4 days or less, you can not use it.
Whew Ok, That's my 2 cents !
