Public Health Concerns of Residents Near Large Livestock Enterprises

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Public Health Concerns of Residents Near Large
Livestock Enterprises

• Bhushan Jayarao
• Extension Veterinarian
• Department of Veterinary Science
• Kenneth Kephart
• Swine Extension Specialist
• Department of Dairy and Animal Science
• Pennsylvania State University

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A historical perspective

• Swine industry
• 1970s 1990
• transition from pasture-based to partially
  enclosed to totally enclosed
• 1990s present
• rapid industrialization
• consolidation
• vertical integration
• proliferation of large-scale facilities
• over a thousand sows
• multi-acre manure lagoons

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Do you recognize these pictures?
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Introduction

• Concerns directed at a broad spectrum of
  large-scale livestock operations
• dairy
• cattle
• poultry
• swine --- swine industry has received the most
  attention

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Who are the concerned ?

• Concerned public
• neighboring farmers
• rural residents
• environmentalists
• local, state and federal policy makers

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What are their concerns ?

• Environmental
• Social
• Economic
• Health consequences !!!!!!!

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What are their health concerns ?

• Potential health and quality of life due to
  exposure to
• gases
• dust
• odors
• communicable diseases
• contaminated water
• originating from large livestock operations

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What do we know about the health effects on
people ?
dust
gases
odors
water
organisms
Swine worker Residents near
large livestock operations YES !!!!!!
Very little !!!!!
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Health effects on swine workers ?

• Since 1970s,several scientific studies worldwide
  document a number of occupational health problems
  among swine workers
  
  
  
• Respiratory conditions - 60 of all workers
• Skin conditions - dermatoses
• Zoonotic infections - infrequently reported

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Respiratory conditions - 60

• Types of respiratory conditions
• chronic bronchitis - 30
• reactive airway disease -30
• organic dust toxic syndrome -30
  
  
  
  
  
• Causative agents
• ammonia - 7 ppm
• hydrogen sulfide - 10,000 ppb / 8 h.
• dust
• total - 2.5 mg/m3
• respirable - .23 mg/m3
• endotoxins - 100 EU/m3

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Skin conditions

• Drugs
• olaquindox
• tylosin
• furazolidone
• Fungus
• Microsporum nanum

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Zoonotic diseases

• Streptococcosis- Streptococcus suis
• flu-like illness followed by meningitis
• Leptospirosis- Leptospira pomona
• jaundice, kidney failure
• Swine influenza- Swine influenza virus
• flu-like symptoms
• Brucellosis- Brucella suis
• fatigue, headache, chills, fever, abortion,
  orchitis
• Encephalomyocarditis- Erysipelothrix
  rhusiopathiae
• arthritis, endocarditis
• Gastroenteritis- Salmonella, Campylobacter,
  Yersinia spp
• gastroenteritis

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What about residents near large livestock
operations ?

• Rural physicians
• Receiving increasing number
  of health complaints from
  neighbors of large-scale
  swine operations
• Paradigm shift
• Nuisance to one that
  considers odors as a
  public health issue

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Any scientific evidence ?

• Schiffman and co-workers (1995)
• Compared moods of residents and non-residents
  near large swine operations - a self administered
  questionnaire
• Residents near swine operations showed increased
  tension, depression, anger and fatigue as
  compared to non-residents
• Thu and co-workers (1997)
• Collected data on physical and psychological
  health of residents near swine facility and
  compared to other rural residents
• Respiratory symptoms evident
• No psychological effects

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Questions, Questions Questions ?

• What are the levels of gases and dust outside
  swine operations ?
• Are they of health significance ?

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Ammonia Inside Normal conditions 10-20
ppm Poor ventilation 50 -200 ppm Reynolds
co-workers (1997) 1.27 - 2.59 ppm Outside Reynol
ds co-workers (1997) mean 0.251 ppm NIOSH
TWA, 25 ppm STEL, 35 ppm OSHA - STEL,
35 ppm Odor threshold 1-5 ppm. Effect on
humans 6 to 20 ppm gt Eye irritant,
respiratory problems 100 ppm (1 hr) Irritation
to mucous surfaces 5,000 ppm Respiratory
spasms, rapid suffocation 10,000 ppm gt Death
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• Hydrogen sulfide
• Inside Normal conditions 5 ppm
• Manure handling operations 200-1500 ppm.
• Reynolds co-workers (1997) - not detected.
• Outside Reynolds co-workers (1997) - Not
  detected
• OSHA TWA, 10 ppm STEL, 55 ppm
• Odor threshold 0.0002 ppm.
• Effect on humans
• 10 ppm Eye irritation
• 200 ppm (1 hr.) Dizziness, CNS,
  pneumonia
• 600 ppm gt Rapid death

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Dust particles

• Sources
• automated dry-feed handling systems
• dander hair from animals, and dried
• manure particles from animals on slotted solid
  floors
• manure gases can cling to dust
• particulate matter
• viral, bacterial, fungal agents
• Effects on human health
• Breathing dusty air for an extended time
• chronic bronchitis
• capacity to take in and exhale oxygen may be
  reduced
• increased susceptibility to respiratory diseases
  such as colds
• episodes of flu-like illness with fever might
  develop
• adverse allergic reactions may result
• Reynolds and co-workers (1997)
• Inside 0.75 to 2.59 mg/m3
• Outside 0.2 mg/m3
• NOISH 5 mg/m3 (respirable)

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Summary

• Concerns of residents need further investigation
• physical
• psychological
• Multi-disciplinary, multi-state studies needed
• Industry driven programs to alleviate concerns of
  residents
• odor, gas and dust abatement
• understanding needs of community

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The End ?