Toxic Fumes

The decomposition of manure in lagoons by anaerobic bacteria produces toxic airborne compounds, which can be harmful to human health and the environment.

A study performed in North Carolina showed people living nearby a 6,000-head intensive pig farm reported increased rates of headaches, runny nose, sore throat, excessive coughing, diarrhea and burning eyes compared to rural residents living far from livestock operations. Additionally, rates of asthma in children living near intensive farms are consistently elevated.

The process of anaerobic digestion has been shown to release over 400 volatile compounds from lagoons. The most prevalent of these are: ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, methane, and carbon dioxide.

Ammonia

In the United States, 80 percent of ammonia emissions come from livestock production. The urea (a component of urine) stored in the lagoon contains ammonium, which is a liquid nitrogen compound.

Through ammonia volatilization, a lagoon can vaporize up to 80 percent of its nitrogen through the reaction: NH4+-N -> NH3 + H+. As pH or temperature increases, so does the amount of volatilized ammonia. Once ammonia has been volatilized, it can travel as far as 300 miles, and at closer ranges it is a respiratory irritant.

Acidification and eutrophication of the ecosystem surrounding the lagoons could be caused by prolonged exposure to volatilized ammonia. This volatilized ammonia has been implicated in widespread ecological damage in Europe, and is becoming a growing concern for the United States.

Hydrogen Sulfide

Lagoons have high concentration of the toxic gas hydrogen sulfide. A study by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency has found that concentrations of Hydrogen sulfide near lagoons have exceeded the state standard, even as far away as 4.9 miles.

Hydrogen sulfide is recognizable for its unpleasant rotten-egg odor. Exposure to the gas can cause eye, nose and throat irritation, diarrhea, hoarseness, sore throat, cough, chest tightness, nasal congestion, heart palpitations, shortness of breath, stress, mood alterations, sudden fatigue, headaches, nausea, sudden loss of consciousness, comas, seizures and death. Because hydrogen sulfide is heavier than air, it tends to linger around lagoons even after ventilation. Levels of hydrogen sulfide are at their highest after agitation and during manure removal.

Methane

Methane is an odorless, tasteless, colorless gas, which is fatal at high levels (though these levels are not usually seen at lagoons). Lagoons produce about 2,300,000 metric tons per year, with around 40 percent of this number coming from swine lagoons. Methane is combustible at high temperatures and explosions and fires are a real threat at, or near, lagoons. Additionally, methane is a potent greenhouse

gas. The EPA has estimated that 13 percent of all the methane emissions came from livestock manure in 1998, and this number has grown in recent years.

Carbon Dioxide

Carbon Dioxide is a main product of anaerobic respiration within the lagoon. Though it is not toxic in itself, health effects include: respiratory problems, eye irritation and headaches. Carbon dioxide is also considered a greenhouse gas.

TM Water Soluble Contaminants

Contaminants that are water soluble can escape from anaerobic lagoons and enter the environment through leakage from badly constructed or poorly maintained manure lagoons as well as during excess rain or high winds, resulting in an overflow of lagoons. These leaks and overflows can contaminate surrounding surface and ground water with some hazardous materials which are contained in the lagoon. By definition spreading slurry on land spreads those contaminants. The most serious of these contaminants are pathogens, antibiotics, heavy metals and hormones.

Pathogens

There are more than 150 pathogens in manure lagoons that have been found to impact human health. Healthy individuals who come into contact with pathogens usually recover promptly.

However, those who have a weakened immune system, such as cancer patients and young children,have an increased risk for a more severe illness or even death. About 20 percent of the U.S. population is categorized in this risk group.

Some of the more notable pathogens are:

E. Coli

E. Coli is found in the intestines and feces of both animal and humans and is extremely virulent. One particular strain Escherichia coli O157:H7 is found specifically in the lumen of cattle raised in CAFOs.

Because cattle are fed corn in CAFOs instead of grass, this changes the pH of the lumen so that it is more hospitable to E. Coli. Grain-fed cattle have 80 percent more of this strain of E. Coli than grassfed cattle.

Cryptosporidium

Cryptosporidium is a parasite that causes diarrhea, vomiting, stomach cramps and fever. It is particularly problematic because it is resistant to most lagoon treatment regimens. In a tudy performed in Canada, 37 percent of swine liquid-manure samples contained Cryptosporidium.

Some other common pathogens (and their symptoms)

• Bacillus anthracis, otherwise known as Anthrax (skin sores, headache, fever, chills, nausea, vomiting)
• Leptospira pomona (abdominal pain, muscle pain, vomiting, fever)
• Listeria monocytogenes (fever, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea)
• Salmonella (abdominal pain, diarrhea, nausea, chills, fever, headache)
• Clostirdum tetani (violent muscle spasms, lockjaw, difficulty breathing)
• Histoplasma capsulatum (fever, chills, muscle ache, cough rash, joint pain and stiffness)
• Microsporum and Trichophyton Ringworm (itching, rash)
• Giardia lamblia (abdominal pain, abdominal gas, nausea, vomiting, fever)
• Cryptosporidium (diarrhea, dehydration, weakness, abdominal cramping)
• Pfiesteria piscicida (neurological damage)

The full presentation can be seen HERE

Remember this presentation (which was published in 2012) is by a vendor of agricultural equipment to farmers. It is simply stating facts that are recognised to be true by the agricultural industry.

How on earth can we allow the unregulated storing and spreading of hundreds of millions of gallons of slurry across the UK?

What toxic gases are present around such storage facilities? The four main gases produced from decomposing manure are Hydrogen Sulfide, Methane, Ammonia, and Carbon Dioxide. In high concentrations, each of these gases may pose a health threat to humans and livestock.

In animal housing facilities, where the manure pit is often located below the facility floor, manure gases are generally detectable in low concentrations throughout the year. When pits are agitated for pumping, some or all of these gases are rapidly released from the manure and may reach toxic levels or displace oxygen, increasing the risk to humans and livestock.

More at: http://nasdonline.org/document/48/d001616/manure-gas-dangers.html

In a confined area it rapidly kills both cattle and humans by suffocation. It is also understood that adding silage effluent to slurry increases the risk as the nutrients in the effluent feed the bacteria in the slurry which are responsible for producing the hydrogen sulphide gas.

Symptoms of exposure to lower concentrations include eye irritation, a sore throat and cough, nausea, shortness of breath, and fluid in the lungs, and long-term, low-level exposure may result in fatigue, loss of appetite, headaches, irritability, poor memory, and dizziness.

More at: http://www.berwickshirenews.co.uk/news/local-headlines/slurry_gas_can_be_lethal_farmers_are_warned_1_2131810

However, while soil and vegetation can be expected to directly influence the survival of this pathogen, there is a paucity of information concerning the behaviour and survival of E. coli O157 in agricultural environments. It appears that E. coli O157 presently contaminates between 1 to 15% of UK cattle herds, depending on region, and that faecal excretion of the bacterium shows a distinct seasonality which also reflects the incidence of human infections. E. coli O157 can remain viable in soil for greater than 4 months and appears to be a highly resilient pathogen possessing the capability to adapt easily to environmental stresses.

While most human cases of E. coli O157 related food poisoning have been associated with the consumption of contaminated meat and dairy products, there is also evidence that human infection has occurred through the ingestion of contaminated soil, fruit and vegetables and drinking water. In this review the potential threat to human health posed by the application of contaminated organic wastes to soil and possible strategies for reducing the amount of pathogen entering the food chain are highlighted.

More at: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1475-2743.1999.tb00069.x/abstract

More at: http://ukpmc.ac.uk/abstract/MED/7801720

Over the last decade, there has been an increase in the awareness of British farmers on the best practices for storage and disposal of livestock wastes. The publication of specific management guidance was driven largely by the need to control chemical pollution from wastes, including nitrate contamination of watercourses and airborne ammonia emissions. The effects of these chemical pollutants are immediate and obvious and overshadow more subtle environmental damage such as the dissemination of bacterial pathogens. Evaluation of current guidance, which has been targeted toward the control of chemical pollutants, suggested that it may increase the length of time that pathogens present in the waste could survive in the environment. Of particular concern is a move toward immediate solid waste incorporation and band spreading or direct injection of liquid wastes into soil. Such practices are likely to decrease the rate of waste drying, the levels of UV irradiation, and the daily range of temperatures experienced by pathogens present in the waste, potentially extending their survival.

More at: http://ukpmc.ac.uk/articles/PMC520911/reload=0;jsessionid=gkEsbs476k4BdPXY2lxo.24

What makes ammonia so harmful is that when ammonia gas is dissolved in water, it becomes extremely corrosive, burning and severely damaging any cells of the body that it comes in contact with.

When the gas comes in contact with the human body, it reacts with the water in the body, transforming into this highly corrosive chemical. If it comes in contact with the eyes, there is a source of water to create this chemical reaction.

When inhaled, the moisture in the lungs provides the moisture and when it comes in contact with the skin, it becomes absorbed into the outer layer, contacting the water within the cells. Lesser ammonia levels will cause less damage and may only result in coughing, eye irritation and a skin rash. High concentrations of ammonia can cause skin to blister, severely damage the lungs and even cause blindness.

Ammonia has such a distinct odour that it’s really hard to miss. At low levels, ammonia is detectable by its unpleasant sharp odour, often present in homes where cat litter boxes are left uncleaned.

By the time ammonia gas has reached high enough concentrations where it is able to do serious damage or even cause death, the smell has become pretty much unbearable. When ammonia odor is powerful enough to cause coughing or burning eyes, it is definitely time to get away from it.

Any time you smell ammonia that is strong enough to burn your eyes and nose, leave the room or building where it is present and go outside to get some fresh air.

More at: http://www.totallyinsulated.co.uk/ammonia-levels.html

Not many people know of the severe environmental damage caused by factory farms. Concentrated animal waste from factory farms pollute the water and soil, cause dust and odour problems for people living in their vicinities, and are responsible for unacceptably high water usage.

Air Pollution

The manure mist that permeates the homes and skin of thousands of people who live near factory farms commonly contains dangerous levels of such noxious gases as hydrogen sulphide, ammonia and methane.

A citizen’s test in Renville County, Minnesota found that one-quarter of 32 tests taken near manure lagoons exceeded Minnesota air quality standards for hydrogen sulphide. This poisonous gas, usually associated with a “rotten egg” smell, causes symptoms such as nausea, headaches, blackout periods and vomiting. Although clouds of manure mist come and go with the wind, the odour itself sinks into human tissue, clothing and furnishings and is released slowly over time.

More at: http://www.all-creatures.org/articles/env-theimpact.html

NH3 + H2 O ⇒ NH4 OH

This reaction is exothermic and capable of causing significant thermal injury.

Ammonium hydroxide can cause severe alkaline chemical burns to skin, eyes, and especially the respiratory system. Mild exposures primarily affect the upper respiratory tract, while more severe exposures tend to affect the entire respiratory system. The gastrointestinal tract also may be affected if ammonia is ingested.

Tissue damage from alkali is caused by liquefaction necrosis and theoretically can penetrate deeper than that caused by an equipotent acid. In the case of ammonium hydroxide, the tissue breakdown liberates water, thus perpetuating the conversion of ammonia to ammonium hydroxide. In the respiratory tract, this results in the destruction of cilia and the mucosal barrier to infection. Furthermore, secretions, sloughed epithelium, cellular debris, edema, and reactive smooth muscle contraction cause significant airway obstruction.

Airway epithelium can regain barrier integrity within 6 hours following exposure if the basal cell layer remains intact. However, damaged epithelium often is replaced by granular tissue, which may be one of the etiologies leading to chronic lung disease following ammonia inhalation injury.

More at: http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/820298-overview#a0104