Pigeon droppings failure

[CTSeng]

First a bridge now this...

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28329144/?GT1=43001

I smell a new ASCE 7 section coming. Can't wait to get my hands on the rain on poop combination.

 

[swivel63]

uhhh....

 

[jorton]

I didn't realize sheriff's deputies were trained in forensic structural engineering.

 

[bridgebuster]

Don't laugh, back in 1980 when a stay-cable snapped on the Brooklyn Bridge - unfortunately a Japanese tourist was killed - the media laughed at the city DOT's chief engineer for bridge maintenance when he made the same statement.

It turned out that he was right.

 

[jorton]

bridgebuster,

Was it due to the increased load or did guano related corrosion play a role?

 

[lkjh345]

I used to work with a guy who included the weight of bird droppings in his design loads when we designed aircraft hangers.

 

[bridgebuster]

jorton,

The conclusion was that the combination of guano and moisture resulted in a chemical reaction that ate away the cable.

 

[Robertmet]

Didn't anyone think that 5" of poop would be a health hazard ?? Should have put it in their compost pile.
IIRC there was cartoon about the engineer in that Brooklyn Bridge incident.
Both poop and urine can be very corrosive and have caused many problems. It's about time people understood this.

 

[msquared48]

Looks like they need to drop a few pigeons - with a few 16 gages... Nothing like bird shot to save a structure.

Mike McCann
MMC Engineering

 

[prost]

Anybody heard this one? Airplane on tarmac, landing gear collapses. Failure from a pit caused by guard urinating on said landing gear.

 

[bridgebuster]

Mike has the best solution for the pigeon problem.

On a lot of bridges in NYC bird barriers - a coil with prongs - have been installed but nature has outsmarted us : The birds have figured out how to sit & $#!+ while perched on the prongs.

In some spots in the city large plastic owls have been installed but again the birds must have figured out the owls are fake.

 

[Bagman2524]

We have packs of pigeons around our cooling fans area. The area is a complete mess. The failures reported above don't surprise me.

 

[Robertmet]

Each of the bridges on the Hudson River support a pair of peregrine falcons .They keep the bridges clear of pigeons !

 

[dicksewerrat]

There is a lung disease associated with pigeon droppings. I think it is (sp) Schistosomiises. should be looked at before any cleanup.

Richard A. Cornelius, P.E.

http://WWW.amlinereast.com

 

[Co]

Any structure that fails with a few inches of bird droppings on it was not designed properly in the first place.

 

[bridgebuster]

dick,

the disease you're thinking of is histosplasmosis.

 

[dicksewerrat]

Ok Thanks

Richard A. Cornelius, P.E.

http://WWW.amlinereast.com