Livestock Industry: Environmental, Health & Legislation Issues

Pius NdegwaNutrient Management & Air Quality

Specialist

Biological Systems EngineeringWashington State University

Overview

1. Environmental and Public Health Issues

• Water Quality

• Air Quality

2. Governing Legislations or Interventions

Environmental & Public Health Issues

• Water Quality: Comprehensive Nutrient Management Plans (CNMPs) required for every livestock producer has by and large taken care of this.

• Air Quality: EPA has started to address what are suspected to be the major culprits from the livestock industry.

Environmental & Health Issues: Air Quality in General

• The six “criteria pollutants” potentially harmful to

human health currently regulated (by EPA) under

the Clean Air Act are:

• Sulfur Dioxide - SO2

• Nitrogen Dioxide - NO2

• Ozone (important: precursors - VOCs & NOx)

• Particulate matter: PM10; PM2.5

• Carbon Monoxide (CO)• Lead

Environmental & Public Health Issues: Air Quality

• Major Pollutants suspected from Livestock

Industry:

1. Ammonia – currently not regulated under CAA

2. Hydrogen sulfide – currently not regulated

under CAA

3. Particulate matter (PM2.5 & PM10) – Regulated

under CAA

4. Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) – Somehow

regulated under CAA (as Ozone precursor

together with NOx)

Ammonia: Environmental & Public Health Issues

• Environmental:• Can be a precursor to particulate matter formation• Can be transported and deposited in sensitive ecosystems

• Health:• No health effects have been found in humans exposed to

typical environmental concentrations of ammonia. • Exposure to high levels of ammonia in air may be

irritating to your skin, eyes, throat, and lungs and cause coughing and burns.

• Lung damage and death may occur after exposure to very high concentrations of ammonia. Some people with asthma may be more sensitive to breathing ammonia than others.

Ammonia: Environmental & Health Issues

• The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has set an acceptable 8-hour exposure limit at 25 ppm of ammonia and a short-term (15 minutes) exposure level at 35 ppm.

Hydrogen Sulfide: Public Health Issues

• Low Concentrations (0 -10 ppm): • Irritation of eyes,• Irritation of nose,• Irritation of throat.

• Medium Concentrations (10-50 pmm): • Headache• Dizziness• Nausea and vomiting• Coughing and breathing difficulty.

• High Concentrations ( over 50 ppm): • Severe respiratory tract irritation• Eye irritation or acute conjunctivitis• Shock, convulsions, coma, or even death in severe cases.

Hydrogen Sulfide: Environmental & Health Issues

• OSHA Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL) for General Industry: Exposures shall not exceed 20 ppm with the following exception: if no other measurable exposure occurs during the 8-hour work shift, exposures may exceed 20 ppm, but not more than 50 ppm (peak), for a single time period up to 10 minutes.

Particulates: Environmental & Health Issues: Air

• Environmental: Particulate matter in the air can cause: reduced visibility, damage to buildings, materials, plants, and other aspects of public welfare.

• Health: Particulate matter may pose a threat to

health when they are airborne, reducing visibility, creating an uncomfortable environment (irritation of eyes, ears, nose, throat, skin) and possibly resulting in damage to the tissues of the lungs and the respiratory system, particularly to asthmatics or allergy sufferers.

Legislation: Particulate Matter

• The Clean Air Act NAAQS criteria are 15 g/m3 (annual arithmetic mean) and 65 g/m3 (24-hour average) for PM2.5 as well as 50 g/m3 (annual arithmetic mean) and 150 g/m3 (24-hour average) for PM10.

• When an area does not meet the air quality standards for any “criteria pollutant”, it may be designated as "non-attainment".

• These “non-attainment” areas are required to develop air pollution control strategies to decrease the emissions of criteria pollutants in order to meet the standards.

Volatile Organic Compounds: Environmental Issues

1. VOCs are products of anaerobic degradation. They are organic compounds that volatilize at fairly low temperatures.

2. Methane: A major greenhouse gas

3. Non-methane VOCs: The are also significant greenhouse gases via their role in creating ozone and in prolonging the life of methane in the atmosphere, although the effect varies depending on local air quality (via photochemical reactions with NOx).

Legislation

• CAA (1970: last amended in 1990) - The Clean Air Act: Committed to Public Health

• EPA has two National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for: primary and secondary pollutants.• The primary standards are aimed at protecting human

health with an "adequate margin of safety." • The secondary standards are expected to protect

visibility, damage to buildings, materials, plants, and other aspects of public welfare.

• The Clean Air Act was the first federal environmental statute to include provision for citizen enforcement. This provision allows individuals to sue violators of the Clean Air Act instead of relying on government action.

Legislation: Additional

• CERCLA (1980) – Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act.• Was created to provide for cleanup of industrial

chemical toxic waste dumps and spills such as Love Canal and Times Beach.

• EPCRA (1986) – Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act.• Was adopted in the wake of the 1984 Union

Carbide disaster in Bhopal, India.

Intervention

• In 2003 the National Academy for Sciences released a report that concluded scientifically sound protocols for measuring air emissions from livestock operations were needed to guide decision making!

• In January 2005, EPA developed Air Quality Compliance Agreement (Consent Agreement).

• Producers would fund a national study to determine who was in violation and would be required to comply with legislation based on this study.

• This Consent Agreement would protect producers from enforcement prior to or while research is being conducted (only those who signed the consent agreement though).

Intervention: NAEMS

• Under the Consent Agreement (Jan. 2005) A National Air Emissions Monitoring Study (NAEMS) will be conducted:• To collect appropriate emission data,• Analyze the monitoring results, and• Create tools (tables and models) to be used for

determining emissions.

• Goal: to determine if an AFO emits pollutants at a level which requires them to apply for permits under the CAA, or submit notifications under CERCLA or EPCRA

Intervention: NAEMS

• In this study, the same instrumentation, protocols, and quality assurance and quality control methods are applied to all species.

• Study is being done in different climatic or geographic areas to reflect different production systems.

• Current Status: NAEMS is almost in its second now. We have four sites in the West: two dairies (WA and CA), Two poultry (both in CA).

• The findings should start to trickle any time.

Legislation

By at least 2011 all livestock farms identified as sources of pollution will have to comply with:

• The Clean Air Act (CAA)• The Comprehensive Environmental Response,

Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA)• The Emergency Planning and Community Right to

Know Act (EPCRA).

Legislation: Livestock Industry Potential Fines

• Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) & Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPRCA) reporting requirements:

Qualifying Releases must be reported: more than 100 pounds of H2S or NH3 per 24 hour period

• Clean Air Act (CAA) permitting requirements:• Limit emissions of VOC’s and Particulates: TSP,

PM10, PM2.5.

• Civil penalties of up to $25,000 per day

Thank You!

Questions?