Improving Swine Production Air Quality

Current Technology Cannot Assess Air Quality Outside Swine Facilities

Farming can be a smelly business, and this is especially true of pigs. Swine facilities contend with significant quantities of manure, which can impact air quality on and around swine farms. Producers take great efforts to care for pigs and the workers in their facilities. Such odors are part of the process.

Air quality, particularly on swine farms and nearby communities, is a commonly studied environmental health issue. Poor air quality on swine farms can pose occupational health and safety risks to farm staff if not properly addressed. The air quality on these farms has the potential impact on the surrounding communities and environment and may lead to respiratory and cardiovascular health risks. Furthermore, marginalized communities are often disproportionally affected by environmental hazards such as poor air quality.

There is a lack of technology that can reliably and objectively measure the level of particles in the air, known as particulate matter. Particulate matter refers to mixture of solid particles and liquid droplets that are suspended in the air—these particles are so small that they can be inhaled into the respiratory system. Without such technology, the industry cannot develop advancements to remove these particulates.

Existing air quality assessments measure particulate matter, found in indoor environments, which is different from those found in ambient air. Particulate matter found in swine farms is different from ambient particulate matter in several ways including particulate matter source, size, composition and concentration amongst others. Existing particulate matter measurement methods are costly, complex, slow and can introduce bias due to the differing particle composition and particle size on swine farms. The lack of reliable measurements is preventing improved air quality.

To address this problem, FFAR and the National Pork Board (NPB) launched the Improving Swine Production Air Quality Program in 2022.

Air Quality Research Opportunities

Phase I: Exposure Assessment of Indoor & Outdoor Air Quality

• Focuses on developing objective measures for characterizing key air quality components and concentrations.

Phase II: Worker & Community Safety & Health Risk Assessment

• Focuses on conducting robust exposure assessments to swine production facility workers and those living near swine facilities by tying identified exposures to potential health outcomes.

Phase III: Mitigations & Interventions

• Focuses on developing mitigations and interventions to reduce negative health impacts to workers, animals and the community.