Wintertime Factors Affecting Contaminant Concentration in Farrowing Barns

Details

• Personal Author:
  Anthony, T. Renée ; Reeve K
• Description:
  Objectives: To assess wintertime contaminant concentration in a farrowing barn. Concentrations were evaluated to determine the effect of pit ventilation, change in concentration over a sample day (5 hr), and whether three data collection methods produce different respirable dust concentrations. Method: Respirable dust, carbon dioxide, ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, and carbon monoxide concentrations were measured using fixed area monitoring and contaminant mapping in a 19-crate farrowing room in winter. Direct-reading instruments were used with fixed area stations and contaminant mapping to evaluate concentrations during five sample days over a three week farrowing cycle. Results: Mean area contaminant concentration, with the exception of CO, was significantly higher when the pit fan was off (p<0.001). Respirable dust concentration increased 79% from 0.30 mg/m3 to 0.54 mg/m3 with the pit fan off, CO2 concentration increased 35%, NH3 increased from 0.03 ppm to 10.8 ppm, and H2S concentrations increased from 0.03 ppm to 0.67 ppm. A significant change in area respirable dust (p<0.001) and CO2 (p<0.001) mean concentrations occurred over time throughout a sample day. Respirable dust concentrations were highest in the beginning of the sample day and decreased by 77% (pit fan off) to 87% (pit fan on) over a five-hour sample period. When the pit fan was off, mean area CO2 concentrations increased 24% by the end of the sample day. The three data collection methods similarly ranked daily mean respirable dust concentrations (highest to lowest); however, method differences were seen in concentration magnitude, and using seven fixed area monitors resulted in the highest mean concentrations. Conclusion: Contaminant concentration did not exceed occupational exposure limits. However, recommended agricultural health limits suggested in the literature were exceeded for respirable dust, CO2, and NH3, indicating a need to consider personal exposures and control options to reduce contaminant concentrations in production facilities. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Agriculture Air Pollutants, Occupational Air Pollution Dust Environmental Exposure Livestock Occupational Health Particulate Matter Safety
• Keywords:
  Agricultural Workers Air Pollutants Air Quality Monitoring Dust Exposure Exposure Levels Livestock Industry Particulate Dust
• Publisher:
  American Industrial Hygiene Association
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Abstract or Summary
• Place as Subject:
  Iowa ; OSHA Region 7
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  143-144
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20052904
• Citation:
  AIHce 2012: American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exposition, June 16-21, 2012, Indianapolis, Indiana. Falls Church, VA: American Industrial Hygiene Association, 2012 Jun; :143-144
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2012
• NORA Priority Area:
  Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing
• Performing Organization:
  University of Iowa, Iowa City
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20010930
• Source Full Name:
  AIHce 2012: American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exposition, June 16-21, 2012, Indianapolis, Indiana
• End Date:
  20270929
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:c34089b7dad1b1c7c692ae30b7b6b66f98e0c61ccf7490b276a79ae2ccd49fdbb846c3ee22a5f691a71da314ec4a74e998eed0e690b64dc73d9c55e5f01bbd66
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/215810/cdc_215810_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 143.47 KB ]