cross-posted from: https://lemmy.blahaj.zone/post/43208909
picnic rule
this post was submitted on 26 May 2026
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Depends which way the winds blowing and whether or not anybody is disturbing the soil at or before the time of the picnic.
Probably depends how deep the cattle is buried. Question: don't they cremate those things when there is some kind of biohazard? Burial? That gets into the soil and spreads with rain. How is that even allowed to be done? Genuinely curious.
Cremation on site is the preferred method. If that's not possible burial at least 6 feet deep after prepping the bodies. They typically cover the bodies with agricultural lye and then sanitize the surrounding soil after burial.
If the proper procedures are done, this really shouldn't be an issue. Anthrax that hasn't been exposed to air isn't that much of a contamination issue as it doesn't develop the protective spore unless exposed to oxygen.
I'd be willing to guess that this sight was probably chosen for cremation. Most of the time if they are unable to do a cremation on site it's because the area isn't fire safe.
BBQ, picnic style!!
It is natural in many warm climates, like cow country in east africa and therabouts, the natural form is not that bad really, and can be treated. The livestock will get it from ripping up roots and eating them. The weaponized versions are a world apart
Bloody hope they cremate. Disturbed grave sites of infected animals have been known to cause infection after 70 years
The hope with burial is that they followed proper procedure and prepped the bodies before burying them. You're supposed to stuff any orifices with sterilizing and absorbent cloth so the bacteria doesn't gain exposure to oxygen.
Anthrax in its vegetative state lacks the protective spore that makes it hardy and resistant to sterilization or natural breakdown. Without the protective spore it's susceptible to environmental factors and will die out like any other bacteria.
There's some sense in that, but it sounds like cheaping out to me, kill it with fire. Unless, of course, you're in a situation where you can't, then do what you can I suppose.
Burn pit is probably the easier option in most scenarios. In most cases it's a lot easier to dig a hole deep enough to bury the ashes of a bunch of cows than to have to prep the bodies of all the cows, bury them under 6 ft of soil, and then sanitize the soil around it.
I imagine the only time you wouldn't go with the burn pit is if it's too windy, or in a location where you'd be worried about starting a wild fire on top of a biohazard.
When the mad cows disease was in the UK they were burned. Feels like that was about 25 years ago.
I wouldn't be surprised if those prions even all die in fire, they are otherwise indestructable. That chronic wasting disease is scary, and spreading.
Prions are mis-folded proteins.
All proteins will be denatured at high enough temperatures. When a protein is 'denatured' it just means that it breaks apart into its fundamental building blocks -- into amino acids or just into much smaller chunks of protein. And a protein can't be mis-folded if it isn't folded at all anymore.
As long as you get the temperature high enough, all prions will be completely destroyed and rendered safe. Hell, if you get the temperature high enough, you'll even separate the amino acid molecules into their component atoms, especially tearing the carbon atoms out of them to create carbon dioxide as the 'fuel' oxidizes.
If the people disposing of those bodies knew what they were dealing with, I'm sure they took great care to ensure the temperatures were plenty high. I wouldn't worry about it. Prions are scary because they're not 'alive', even in the sense viruses are. They're smaller and more resilient than any virus and have no metabolism to feed, so they can theoretically last indefinitely. But high temperatures are an effective way to permanently destroy them.
You are a decade out. Peaked at the start of the 1990s.