AAAR 34th Annual Conference
October 12 - October 16, 2015
Hyatt Regency
Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
Abstract View
Factors Affecting Particle and Gas Concentrations in Swine Production Facilities
PETER RAYNOR, Shannon Engelman, Darby Murphy, Gurumurthy Ramachandran, Jeff Bender, Bruce Alexander, University of Minnesota
Abstract Number: 289 Working Group: Primary and Secondary Aerosols from Agricultural Operations
Abstract Swine industry workers face inhalation exposures to endotoxin, organic dusts, microorganisms, and gases. In response to consumer and food industry preferences, production practices in the swine industry are evolving to allow gestating sows to be housed in pens that permit greater movement relative to sows housed in individual gestation stalls that restrict movement. The extent to which the type of gestation housing influences concentrations of particles and gases is unclear. The objective of this research was to characterize particle and gas concentrations in spaces that used different types of gestation housing, and to determine factors that affect worker exposures in these operations. Eight-hour time-weighted average respirable dust and endotoxin concentrations were measured using area samples approximately twice per month for a year in an operating swine facility with parallel gestation stall and pen housing systems for sows. Over the same eight-hour intervals, respirable dust, hydrogen sulfide, ammonia, and carbon dioxide concentrations, and temperature and relative humidity were measured with direct-reading instruments. Due to ventilation changes, season affected concentrations more than other factors. For example, average respirable dust concentrations were greater than 300 micrograms per cubic meter during the winter versus being below the limit of detection, about 60 micrograms per cubic meter, during the summer. Respirable endotoxin levels were approximately ten times higher in winter than during the summer. Respirable dust and endotoxin were 43% and 67% higher, respectively, on average, in the room with gestation pens than in the room with gestation stalls. While individual contaminant concentrations were generally below occupational exposure limits, the effects of combined exposures should be considered further. Elevated levels of respirable endotoxin and hydrogen sulfide were observed during power washing; this task warrants additional characterization.