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Kellogg J. Schwab, PhD
Johns Hopkins University

Air


Airborne contaminant emissions arise from both ventilation and passive release
Emissions can include toxic gases and particulates (Bunton et al., 2007;
Heederick et al., 2007)

Degrading animal excreta produce a complex mixture of …
Dust particles
Bacteria

Endotoxins
Volatile organic compounds

Hydrogen sulfide

Ammonia
Odors (Bunton et al., 2007)
Photo source: USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. 3

Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria in Air

Studies have found that the air downwind and/or inside large-scale swine feeding operations can also be contaminated with high levels of multi-drug–resistant bacteria (Gibbs et al., 2004; 2006; Chapin et al., 2005)

Gibbs et al. collected Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella spp., fecal coliforms, and total coliforms inside and downwind of two largescale swine operations
All micro-organisms were resistant to two or more antibiotics, including ampicillin, penicillin, erythromycin, tylosin, tetracycline and/or oxytetracycline
4

Airborne Levels of Enterococci Inside a Swine CAFO

1,700 Enterococci were isolated per cubic meter of air

An individual breaths approximately 1.5 m 3 per hour
Workers are exposed to 2,550 airborne Enterococci per hour
5

Human Health Effects from Airborne Emissions


IFAP facilities emit significant levels of several compounds (NRC, 2003)
Endotoxins
Particulate matter
Ammonia
Hydrogen sulfide
Nitrous oxide
Methane
Volatile organic compounds
Exposures to these compounds are associated with a wide range of airway diseases (Heederik et al., 2007)
Mucous membrane irritation
Bronchitis
Asthma
Asthma-like syndrome
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
6

Two Major Causes for Soil Degradation

Feed production
Monocultures
Pesticide use
Soil erosion

Waste disposal
Nutrient overload
Pathogen burden
Soil becomes reservoir of air and water pollutants
7

Water Stress

Water contamination from runoff, leaching, and incompletely treated effluent

Water withdrawal for feed production
Water use for animal vs. plant protein: 100:1
E.g., approximately 500 gallons per pound of grain-fed broiler
(3,500 L to produce 1 kg)

Water withdrawal for animal care (IFAP vs. pasture ratio up to 5:1)
8

Ogallala Aquifer

Nebraska, Kansas, Colorado,
Oklahoma, New Mexico, Texas
(Wyoming, South Dakota)

One of the largest aquifers in the world
Approximately 174,000 square miles
Photo source: waterencyclopedia.com. Map source: USGS. 9

Ogallala Aquifer Depletion

Already depleted by half

One- to three-foot decline in water levels per year

Some areas already exhausted
Source: Kansas Renewable Energy Working Group. 10

Water Contamination

Manure storage

Manure disposal

Runoff from soil into surface waters

Leaching from soil into groundwater

Extreme weather events (flooding)
JHSPH OpenCourseWare has removed this image because license for its use could not be secured
11

Excess Nutrients

Excess nutrients flushed from agricultural soils into the Mississippi
Delta
Map source: USGS. 12

Eutrophication of Inland Surface Waters

Excess nutrients lead to algal blooms and fish kills
JHSPH OpenCourseWare has removed this image because license for its use could not be secured
13

Excess Nutrients: Hypoxia

Annually recurring dead zones in the Gulf of Mexico
Up to 9,000 square miles in the year 2002 (an area the size of
New Jersey)
Map source: NOAA.
Area in square miles
Size of dead zone
Year (1985–2002)
14

Animal Waste Disposal
Photo source: USDA. 15

Spatial Distribution of Confined Livestock Operations
Map source: USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. 16

Runoff
Map source: USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. 17

Regions Vulnerable to Manure Nitrogen Runoff
Map source: USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. 18

Populations Affected by Nitrate Leaching

Nitrate concentration in U.S. groundwater used for drinking, as predicted by the GWAVA-DW model (simulation depth 50 m)
JHSPH OpenCourseWare has removed this image because license for its use could not be secured
19

Other Contaminants of Concern

Endocrine disruptors
JHSPH OpenCourseWare has removed this image because license for its use could not be secured.
Please visit http://www.pca.state.mn.us/hot/frogphotos.html
to view the deleted images on the Minnesota
Pollution Control Agency site
20

Endocrine Disrupting Compounds (EDCs)

WHO definition: an endocrine disrupter “is an exogenous substance or mixture that alters function(s) of the endocrine system and consequently causes adverse health effects in an intact organism, or to its progeny, or (sub)populations”
JHSPH OpenCourseWare has removed this image because license for its use could not be secured.
Please visit http://www.pca.state.mn.us/hot/frogphotos.html
to view the deleted images on the Minnesota
Pollution Control Agency site
21

Endocrine Disrupting Compounds (EDCs)

Important agricultural EDCs:
Pesticides used in feed production (atrazine, trifluralin, permethrin)
Natural hormones contained in manure
22