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Reports and Factsheets Air Pollution from Factory Farms Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) produce air pollutants and odors that can threaten health and the environment, and reduce local property values. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and most states fail to regulate any air emissions from CAFOs. Several studies have found that odors from large hog operations can affect neighbors' health. One study in North Carolina found that people living near these facilities reported more tension, depression, anger, fatigue, confusion, and less overall vigor than control subjects. (Schiffman, et.al., 1995) A more recent study by University of North Carolina researchers found that people living near large hog farms suffer significantly higher levels of upper respiratory and gastrointestinal ailments than people living near large cattle farms or in non-livestock areas. (Wing, 1999) An Iowa study found that neighbors of hog facilities had respiratory problems similar to those of workers in hog confinement operations (e.g., bronchitis, asthma, upper-air inflammation, and a flu-like illness). (Donham, 1998) One-quarter of all swine confinement workers experience chronic health effects, such as bronchitis. This illness is found more than twice as often in workers in confinement buildings as those who work in traditional hog production. (Dohnam, 993) Animal waste is rich in nitrogen, much of which escapes (as ammonia) into the air from waste storage pits and from field application of animal wastes. Rain then deposits the nitrogen onto water, and onto land where it can run into waterways. Excessive nitrogen feeds algae growth and depletes the oxygen supply, killing fish and other aquatic life. Preliminary analysis indicates that hog factories pour more nitrogen pollution through the air alone into eastern North Carolina estuaries than all of the discharges from municipal waste water treatment plants and industrial factories combined. (Rudek, 1997) Hog operations in North Carolina discharge more ammonia nitrogen into the air than all other state livestock and industrial sources combined (Aneja, 1997). Studies in the North Carolina region where hog factories are clustered show that ammonia measured in rain has doubled in the last decade (Cornelius, 1997). This is the same period during which large hog operations grew dramatically in North Carolina. Odors from large hog facilities can also decrease neighbors property values. Because of odors, county officials in DeWitt County, Illinois, reduced property assessments of people living within 1.5 miles of a CAFO by 30 percent. Those who lived two miles away received a ten percent cut in their property assessment. (Peoria Journal Star, 1998) In a study of 99 rural land real estate transactions of more than one acre, University of Missouri researchers found that CAFOs lowered land values within a three-mile radius. The loss amounted to approximately $2.68 million, or $112 per acre. (Hamed, 1999) The Sierra Club advocates the following reforms to stop air pollution from CAFOs: Ban new open-air manure lagoons and the aerial spraying of liquid wastes onto fields and phase out existing lagoon/sprayfield operations. Waste should be plowed into the soil to avoid the air emissions that result from spray application. CAFOs should be treated as stationary air pollution sources under the federal Clean Air Act and required to apply for air pollution permits. Air pollution protections that apply to industrial facilities should apply to large livestock operations because they are, in effect, an industrial source of pollution, given their size and the volume of emissions. Air pollution control agencies should set standards for all compounds released to the air by CAFOs. For more information about the Sierra Club's opposition to factory livestock production, contact your local Sierra Club Chapter. Sources: Aneja, Viney P., Yongxian Li, John Walker and J.P. Chauhan. "Atmospheric Ammonia/ Nitrogen Compounds Emissions and Characterization". Proceedings from Workshop on Atmospheric Nitrogen Compounds, March 1997. Cornelius, Wayne L. "Comparison of Nitrogenous Ion Deposition and Human and Animal Census Trends in Eastern North Carolina". Proceedings from Workshop on Atmospheric Nitrogen Compounds, March 1997. Donham, Kelley. "Community and Environmentally Acceptable Livestock Production: Defining the Challenge". Presentation at Animal Feeding Operations and Ground Water Conference, November 1998. Donham, Kelley. "Respiratory Disease Hazards to Workers in Livestock and Poultry Confinement Structures." Seminars in Respiratory Medicine, Vol. 14, No.1, 1993. Hamed, Mubarak, Thomas Johnson and Kathleen Miller, The Impacts of Animal Feeding Operations on Rural land Values, Community Policy Analysis Center, University of Missouri - Columbia. May, 1999. Peoria Star Journal, "Board smells lower land values near hog farm. DeWitt county officials grant lower assessments." May 6, 1998 Rudek, Joe. Atmospheric Nitrogen Deposition & Ecosystem Health in North Carolina: A Public Perspective. March 1997. Schiffman, Susan, et. al. "The Effect of Environmental Odors Emanating From Commercial Swine Operations on the Mood of Nearby Residents" Brain Research Bulletin, Vol. 37. No. 4, 369-375, 1995. Thu, Kendall, et al. "A Control Study of the Physical and Mental Health of Residents Living Near a Large-scale Swine Operation," Journal of Agricultural Safety and Health, Vol. 3, No. 1, 1997. Wing, Steve and Wolf, Susanne, "Intensive Livestock Operations, Health and Quality of Life Among Eastern North Carolina Residents." University of North Carolina School of Public Health. A report prepared for North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services Division of Public Health. May, 1999. Up to Top HOME | Email Signup | About Us | Contact Us | Terms of Use