Dr. Ken Casey will take part in the 2.5-year, $14.6 million study to measure levels of hydrogen sulfide, particulate matter (dust), ammonia, nitrous oxide, volatile organic compounds and non-methane hydrocarbons released from livestock facilities.

This is a first-ever, nationwide study to measure amounts of various pollutants discharged from poultry, dairy and swine operations, said Al Heber, a Purdue University professor of agricultural and biological engineering.

Recording has begun at most of the locations, and by midsummer the project will be under way at 20 monitoring sites in nine states. Led by Purdue, the study will help establish science-based guidelines for potential regulations on livestock air emissions, Heber said. Good data are lacking on these gases, which are regulated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

"There has never been an agricultural air emissions study this comprehensive or long term," Heber said. "We don't know enough about what is being emitted into the atmosphere. This study will give the EPA the data it needs to make science-based regulations and even allow us to develop strategies for reducing emissions when necessary."

Source: AgNews