Characterization and Dispersion Modeling of Odors from a Piggery Facility

Abstract

Piggeries are known for their nuisance odors, creating problems for workers and nearby residents. Chemical substances that contribute to these odors include sulfurous organic compounds, hydrogen sulfide, phenols and indoles, ammonia, volatile amines, and volatile fatty acids. In this work, daily mean concentrations of ammonia (NH3) and hydrogen sulfide (H2S) were measured by hand-held devices. Measurements were taken in several places within the facility (farrowing to finishing rooms). Hydrogen sulfide concentration was found to be 40 to 50 times higher than the human odor threshold value in the nursery and fattening room, resulting in strong nuisance odors. Ammonia concentrations ranged from 2 to 18 mL m(-3) and also contributed to the total odor nuisance. Emission data from various chambers of the pig farm were used with the dispersion model AERMOD to determine the odor nuisance caused due to the presence of H2S and NH3 to receptors at various distances from the facility. Because just a few seconds of exposure can cause an odor nuisance, a "peak-to-mean" ratio was used to predict the maximum odor concentrations. Several scenarios were examined using the modified AERMOD program, taking into account the complex terrain around the pig farm.

Air Pollution from Industrial Swine Operations and Blood Pressure of Neighboring Residents

“…Because there are no other major industrial sources of H 2 S in the study communities, it is a specific marker of swine CAFO emissions; however, this marker is not sensitive, in part, because of the detection threshold of the instrument (~ 2 ppb/15 min). Hog odor, which has a distinctive character due to a complex mixture of volatile organic compounds (Schiffman et al 2001; Karageorgos et al 2010), was often reported when H 2 S levels were below the detection limit. Another source of measurement error comes from the placement of the H 2 S monitor at a central location in rural neighborhoods, which was as far as approximately 1 mile from some participants’ residences (median, 0.1 mile).…”

Air Pollution From Industrial Swine Operations and Blood Pressure in Neighboring Residents

“…Linear fixed effects beta coefficients (SEs) and t-values for potential modifiers of associations of BP with one-unit increases in hog odor and H 2 S, adjusted for time-of-day (AM or PM), Community Health Effects of Industrial Hog Operations study. odor, which has a distinctive character due to a complex mixture of volatile organic compounds (Schiffman et al 2001;Karageorgos et al 2010), was often reported when H 2 S levels were below the detection limit. Another source of measure ment error comes from the placement of the H 2 S monitor at a central location in rural neighborhoods, which was as far as approximately 1 mile from some participants' residences (median, 0.1 mile).…”

A Systematic Review of Occupational Exposure to Hydrogen Sulfide in Livestock Operations

“…The larger mass of the animal, the more manure is produced and accumulated, resulting in more H 2 S being produced and released. 19 For instance, growing and fattening rooms within swine operations show higher H 2 S concentrations within the barn due to large pigs excreting more manure relative to piglets in nursery barns. 20 This is further complicated by differing feed type contributing to the H 2 S levels; nursery pigs (i.e., piglets) are fed low-sulfur-content feedstuff compared with more mature pigs (i.e., fattening swine).…”