2002 Annual Report
Research
Aerial Pollutant Emissions from Animal Confinement Buildings
Larry Jacobson, Professor
David Schmidt, Assistant Extension Engineer
Philip Goodrich, Associate Professor
Richard Nicolai, Research Fellow
Verlyn Johnson, Information Technology Professional
Five other university cooperators: Purdue University, University of Illinois,
Iowa State University, Texas A&M University, and North Carolina State
University
Funding Source
CSREES/USDA
Objective
The goal of this project is to document the emissions of odors, gases,
and particulate matter from animal facilities in order to assess their
impact on the environment and society.
Project Description
This multi-state project will determine baseline target air pollutants
(TAP) emission rates for six common types of animal confinement buildings
from different sections of the United States and evaluate the differences
in emissions due to season of year, time of day, building design, growth
cycle of the animals, and building management. Results from this research
will provide producers, technical assistance providers, regulators, and
compilers of emission inventories with accurate information that is consistent
with rigorous environmental protection requirements and rural socioeconomic
needs. It directly addresses the Initiative for Future Agriculture and
Food Systems (IFAFS) topical area focusing on determining and predicting
odor, gas and particulate matter impacts on the atmosphere and society.
Results
The first year of this multi-state research project, has included the development of a common protocol and quality assurance project plan (QAPP) for measuring ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, carbon dioxide and particulate matter under 10 microns in diameter continuously from pig and poultry production operations. Identical equipment was purchased and installed in mobile trailers at the designated pig and poultry operations in all six states. Pig sites were developed in Minnesota (gestation phase), Illinois (farrowing phase), Texas (grow-finish phase with outside-the-barn manure storage), and Iowa (grow-finish phase with deep pit manure storage under the barn ). Poultry sites are being monitored in Indiana (layers) and North Carolina (broilers). Temperature, moisture, and barometric pressure are also being measured at the sites along with gas and dust concentrations on a 10 minute sequential basis that last 2 hours before repeating the sampling locations. Data collection started in Fall 2002, and as of December 31, 2002, each site has collected some data. Data will be collected and analyzed throughout the coming year.