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That Stinks Nitrate Pollution Groundwater is frequently contaminated by factory farm pollution, generally in the form of nitrates. Nitrate pollution, which can cause serious human health problems, seeps out of manure lagoons and into community sources of drinking water. About 13% of the domestic drinking-water wells in the Midwest contain unsafe levels of nitrates.    > Read More There are many ways that groundwater, in particular, may be contaminated with nitrates from factory farms including: lagoon seepages, lagoon spills or leaks and the misapplication of manure onto the land.    > Read More In 2001, the EPA forced five hog factory farms to supply bottled water for local residents because activities at the farms had contaminated the local drinking-water.    > Read More In some instances, groundwater below fields that were sprayed with liquid manure was five times greater than levels which would be safe for humans.    > Read More Half of the lagoons tested in one study were found to be leaking large amounts of nitrogen, threatening to contaminate groundwater.    > Read More Applying animal manure to the ground near wells doubles the likelihood that nitrate levels in the well will be unhealthy.    > Read More High levels of nitrates in well water near animal feedlots have been linked to spontaneous abortions in humans.    > Read More Drinking nitrate-contaminated water can cause "blue baby" syndrome in infants, leading to developmental deficiencies or death.    > Read More One survey of drinking-water wells in North Carolina found that 10% of wells near factory farms have unsafe levels of nitrates -- the cause: leaking hog lagoons and hog wastewater sprayfields.    > Read More Health Issues Scientific and medical researchers have conducted a handful of comprehensive studies that examine the public health impacts of animal factories. These studies have collectively concluded that residents living near animal factories show symptoms of respiratory, physical and emotional illness at levels significantly higher than control groups. Residents living near large hog factories may experience higher rates of respiratory problems.    > Read More Many people living near factory farms where hogs are raised cannot open their windows or go outside in nice weather because of the stench.    > Read More Residents near large hog factories may experience headaches, runny noses, sore throats, excessive coughing, diarrhea, and burning eyes more often than people living elsewhere.    > Read More People living as far as two miles away from factory farms where hogs are raised experience symptoms such as bronchitis and shortness of breath at rates similar to those of farm workers.    > Read More Higher levels of tension, depression, anger and fatigue have been found among residents living near large swine factories.    > Read More Chemical Pollutants and Pathogens Chemical pollutants and pathogens from animal waste pose a public health risk when leaked into surface water supplies like community rivers and streams. Fecal bacteria and pathogens from factory farms are probably responsible for several illness outbreaks in the United States. A single major spill from a waste lagoon on a factory farm in 1995 caused the restriction of shellfishing on 364,000 acres of wetlands.    > Read More Chemical pollutants and pathogens from animal waste stored in lagoons at factory farms can travel through the soil and contaminate other areas.    > Read More In three years, pollution from factory farms in ten states caused 200 fish kills, resulting in the death of 13 million fish.    > Read More Clay liners on manure lagoons are used on factory farms to reduce seepage, but even clay-lined lagoons may leak up to several thousand gallons per acre per day.    > Read More Applying swine-lagoon effluent to land, a common practice at factory farms, poses a risk to communities that depend upon groundwater for drinking water.    > Read More Cattle manure runoff from a farm contaminated a drinking-water supply in Ontario, making 1,300 people sick.    > Read More Dangerous bacteria can remain in surface waters near lagoon spills for a full two months.    > Read More Waste from factory farms can get into surface waters and groundwater even in dry weather.    > Read More In three years, there were 1,000 chemical spills and other pollution incidents at factory farms in ten states.    > Read More Contamination from manure on large dairy farms is believed to have contaminated the drinking water in Milwaukee, making 400,000 people sick.    > Read More Air pollutants Scientific studies are beginning to prove what neighbors to factory farms know well—manure lagoons emit toxic airborne chemicals that can result in human health problems. Air pollutants like hydrogen sulfide and ammonia can cause both immediate and long-term respiratory problems. Waste lagoons on factory farms emit toxic chemicals into the air which can cause many health problems in humans.    > Read More Odors from CAFO's may contain 170 separate chemical substances.    > Read More Emissions from CAFO lagoons contain greenhouse gases, in addition to toxic gases such as hydrogen sulfide and ammonia.    > Read More Hydrogen sulfide, a gas emitted from animal waste lagoons, can cause eye, nose, and throat irritation, headaches, many other health problems, and even death.    > Read More Hydrogen sulfide, a gas toxic to humans, is emitted from CAFO lagoons. In one study it was found in the air, at unsafe levels, almost 5 miles from the source.    > Read More Levels of hydrogen sulfide from the lagoon at one CAFO in Minnesota exceeded the safe level for human health 271 times in two years.    > Read More During an eleven year period of major expansion of the hog industry in one North Carolina county, it was found that the amount of ammonia (an irritant to humans) in the rain doubled.    > Read More CAFOs may emit pollutants that are regulated under the Clean Air Act at unsafe levels.    > Read More Children at a day care center in Minnesota experienced diarrhea, nausea and headaches due to hydrogen sulfide poisoning caused by air emissions from a factory farm over a mile away.    > Read More Up to Top HOME | Email Signup | About Us | Contact Us | Terms of Use