Air Pollution and Odor in Communities Near Industrial Swine Operations
Environmental Health PerspectivesPublished 5 June 2008Open access
Steve Wing, Rachel Avery Horton, Stephen W. Marshall, Kendall Thu, Mansoureh Tajik, Leah H. Schinasi
Citations178
SJR quartileQ1
SJR score2.57
SNIP1.98
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TL;DR
This study indicates that malodor from swine operations is commonly present in these communities and that the odors reported by neighbors are related to objective environmental measurements and interruption of activities of daily life.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Odors can affect health and quality of life. Industrialized animal agriculture creates odorant compounds that are components of a mixture of agents that could trigger symptoms reported by neighbors of livestock operations. OBJECTIVE: We quantified swine odor episodes reported by neighbors and the relationships of these episodes with environmental measurements. METHODS: Between September 2003 and September 2005, 101 nonsmoking volunteers living within 1.5 mi of industrial swine operations in 16 neighborhoods in eastern North Carolina completed twice-daily odor diaries for approximately 2 weeks. Meteorological conditions, hydrogen sulfide, and particulate matter 6.75 miles per hour. The odds of reporting a change in daily activities due to odor increased 62% for each unit increase in average odor during the prior 12 hr (t-value = 7.17). CONCLUSIONS: This study indicates that malodor from swine operations is commonly present in these communities and that the odors reported by neighbors are related to objective environmental measurements and interruption of activities of daily life.
Keywords
MedicineEnvironmental ScienceChemical Engineering
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