Impacts of Odor and the Unknown Truth: A Comparison
of Air Quality: The Large Scale Lagoon System to
Swedish Style and Hoop House Models for Raising Swine

Julie Jansen
Mother, Rural Resident

In the fall of 1994 two large-scale swine operations with lagoon systems were built south of my home. In March of 1995 my family and neighbors started to experience health effects such as headaches, blacking out, nausea, coughing, lung congestion, bloody noses, leg cramps, body aches dizziness, stomach cramps and diarrhea just to list a few, as the months rolled on we remained seriously ill off and on. On July 4, 1995 the odor in our home was so ungodly I could not believe it. Doors and windows shut and air conditioning running and still the sewer gas smell was unbearable. Every one in my home was ill once again. I now know that we were being fooled with masking agents [9]. Masking agents reduce and even take away our sense of smell away but our body still reacts to the chemical reaction of the gases present in the cloud of gases hovering over us called a plume. At the request of a neighbor who was also experiencing health problems I called the Minnesota Poison Control Center and inquired about Methane and Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S). My neighbor and I had prepared a list of symptoms that both our households were experiencing. I asked if these chemicals could cause these symptoms. I was told that H2S would. I asked what else H2S could do, I was told the only symptoms we were not experiencing were seizures, convolutions and death [6, 7, 8, 14, 15, 16]. This phone call has lead me down a 2 1/2 year search for the truth and justice. After many phone calls to the Mn. Department of Health (MDH) and the Mn. Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) I realized I needed to search for the truth myself, because neither Department had the answers.

After almost a year of research and pleading for air quality testing, I knew that if any meaningful testing was going to be done the citizens would have to do it. With the help of many new found friends, including a micro biologist and an environmental consultant, we conducted the first ever in Minnesota citizens monitoring effort.. We rented a 631x Jerome gold film H2S monitor from Arizona Instruments. We showed that 25% of the 17 large-scale swine lagoon facilities in Renville County were possibly exceeding the Minnesota air quality standards [2] on the days-tested [1].

The MDH reviewed the citizens data and recommended that all facilities with levels over 50 ppb reduce there emissions [1]. MDH concluded that the levels found were not a health emergency but would cause the symptoms of nausea, headaches, irritation to eyes, throat or respiratory system especially in children and people with underlying health problems, like asthma. On July 1, 1996 levels reached as high as 1,400 parts per billion (ppb) with a hour average of 163.23 ppb in my yard. This was significant to show actual human exposure.

The MPCA wrote letters to two of the feedlots with odor contingence plans and requested that they reduce their emissions. The letter stated that not only were they creating an on going nuisance odor they were according to the MDH a potential health concern. I thought our nightmare would end here, but of coarse it did not.

The Attorney Generals office and MPCA called a meeting and informed us that we were an embarrassment to the agency. While we did a great job and should be commended, The H2S standard was old and out dated, and they were not going to enforce the standards unless the legislators told them to.

With out much hope for it to happen, we wrote a bill to force the MPCA to enforce the air quality standards of the state and to do their job. It was not easy but we passed and the Governor signed the bill.

Our Attorney General has called for a statewide moratorium on feedlots. Four of the DFL Governor Candidates support some type of feedlot moratorium. Our Governor has called for a generic environmental impact study to be done on feedlots. Things are starting to happen but it has been almost three years and an every day struggle. At the county level we are writing a feedlot odor ordinance. From not being believed to these steps is an improvement. What ever we accomplish we have at least started to pave the path for the next generation.

In the coarse of this battle I have gained great knowledge of what the family farm/ factory farm battle is all about. I have learned about sustainable and organic farming practices. I believe there is a neighbor friendly safe way to raise livestock. I testified for and supported a bill which included research and development of low energy low emission livestock systems. I have testified in many counties and states on behalf of citizen groups like mine that are fighting for their rights to clean air and a healthy environment.

I was taken back when I received a call asking to fight a hoop house system. This is when I realized that citizens were starting to have a phobia of any type of hog raising system. I did not want this to happen. The livestock industry is an important asset to our family farms, community and state. I wanted to help prove that there was a safe way to raise livestock and help promote these systems. I spot tested for H2S around and in a hoop house system and found that the levels in the hoop house were extremely lower than what I found in my home and yard from the large livestock lagoon systems 3/4 and 1 1/2 miles away from my home.

Feedlot odors are complex. In the past most feedlot odor was contributed to land application [9]. Now with the trend of large live stock facilities, odor has become a 365-day problem. In Renville County 102 odor complaints were logged with in six months from large swine systems with lagoons [10]. Renville County created an odor task force to investigate the problem. The task force consisted of two commissioners, two farmers, the County Attorney and County Auditor. Their recommendation (March 14, 1995) stated that odor is a real issue and at certain times and places it reached unreasonable and unbearable levels and when present denies an unacceptable quality of life to those subject to it, correction actions were recommended.

There are over 200 chemicals known to be in hog odor [5]. Many of them are toxins. Many studies have been done on worker health in swine operations [3,4,7,14]. There is a significant pattern of respiratory effects among workers in swine operations. Dusts, respirable dusts and respirable endotoxins, methane, and carbon dioxide are a concern but the two gases that are the greatest concern are ammonia and H2S [3,4,6,7,9,14,18].

H2S is the most toxic gas associated with the decomposition of swine manure. H2S is both an irritant and an asphyxiating gas.. H2S is a colorless, very odorous and heavier the air. We know that the odor threshold starts at 1/2 ppb [5,6], 5 ppb to 10 ppb will start to cause health symptoms in some people [8, 12] some researchers believe this maybe caused by environmental stress from odor [3,6]. H2S is absorbed into the lungs by inhalation. Some researchers believe that H2S is quickly detoxified by the bodies oxidizing mechanisms and is only toxic at high parts per million (ppm) [21, 22] Other researchers believe that H2S is accumulative and no level is safe [ 15 ]. H2S leaves the body through urine, bowel, and gas exchange [6]. Tolerance to H2S does not develop, hypersensitivity is often noted after an exposure [22]. There are no studies on humans for long term low level ppb H2S.

OSHA standards are 10 ppm for an 8-hour workday. This standard was developed for protecting the eyes, using white healthy males ages 18 to 24. OSHA standards were never intended to be used as legal standards or ambient air quality standards [16]. This level will not protect children or sensitive people.

A few studies claimed that H2S maybe a teratogentic and an embryotoxic however Carbon Disulfide (CS2) was also present and well known to be associated with increased toxicity of reproduction [21]. The horrifying part of this is that we did find CS2 in every air bag sample that we have taken at large scale lagoon systems.

The common level of H2S in an environmentally controlled swine system is 3 ppm to 5 ppm [7, 9]. In the deep straw system we found (using a 621x Jerome meter) a 1/2 hour average of .091 ppb. and the hoop house average was .182 ppb, both of these systems 1/2 hour average was less than 1 ppb inside the barns. The lagoon system was measured about 500 feet down wind and averaged 90.75 ppb.

Ammonia gas is an irritant, which is colorless, lighter than air and has a sharp pungent odor. Ammonia causes irritation to eyes, nose, and respiratory tract, swelling and narrowing of the throat, bronchi, coughing and fluid in the lungs [7, 9,17,18]. Waste lagoons and barns release large amounts of ammonia, which returns to earth in rain, and can causes waterway pollution [18].

Typical levels in a well-ventilated environmentally regulated system are 10 to 20 ppm. In winter with no ventilation rates can reach 100 to 200 ppm. 50 ppm and over will increase pneumonia and other respiratory diseases in the hogs [7]. Inside the deep straw system (using n = 5 Drager Tubes) we found a 1/2 hour average of 5.375 ppm of ammonia. This barn was poorly ventilated to keep the barn warm for the piglets yet the levels were in the normal range and way below winter levels. In the hoop house using the same method and time frame we found an average of .6 ppm of ammonia very low for this time of year. No ammonia or H2S was found immediately outside either of these systems. With the lagoon system we found an average of .65 ppm about 500 feet down wind from the lagoon. This level is also fairly low but we also must consider the test was not taken in the building but in the ambient air.

The university of Minnesota has taken H2S readings off the surface of lagoons, pitted barn fans and off the surface of out door storage systems (animal operation size was not included). All three of these systems showed high levels up to 120 ppm leaving the surface [13]. This study showed that deep-pitted barns emitted higher levels of H2S at the surface than lagoons. How these levels are dispersed over distance is unknown.

The first-ever modeling effort was requested by the MPCA on a large 3000 sow deep pit operation. The modeling effort predicted that levels could reach 29 ppb 1/2 mile down wind under the worse weather conditions [11].

Raising hogs is a choice that a farmer chooses. I feel that the farmer could also choose to wear protection such as a filter mask or respirator while working in buildings. When the levels of pollution reach the ambient air and affect the neighbors' quality of life and health it is not right. It is not the neighbors' choice to live like this enduring pain, hardship and suffering for someone else' s profit. Farmers are leaning toward the trend of large-scale systems. They could be putting up hoop houses for less than $10,000 [20]. With less cash investment the return would be greater and with out the hassle of:

1. Trying to fix a system' s odor emissions with no sure cure
2. Millions of dollars invested into a system
3. Angry neighbors
4. The environmental worries of water seepage, over flow, or mechanical failures

The hoop house and deep bed straw system are safer for the farmer, animals, community and the environment.

A wonderful wise man once wrote [19]"The way exists. Is there the will?"

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