Water Quality and Health Hazards in Swine CAFOs

Introduction

Recent changes in swine-management practices have resulted in a growing controversy surrounding the environmental and public health effects of modern swine production. The numerous wastes produced by intensive swine production pose a significant challenge to effective environmental management. Such practices have also been associated with decreased air quality in confinement houses, potentially transferable antimicrobial resistance patterns, and several infectious agents that can be pathogenic to humans. Studies to date have documented a variety of contaminants, microbial agents, and health effects in workers exposed to swine, and these findings have served as a framework for an increasing body of research evaluating possible community health effects as well. This paper provides an overview of concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) for swine, the environmental and human health hazards typically associated with such practices, an assessment of current and future initiatives to help overcome these hazards, and a summary of the research in the conclusion.

Background and Overview of Swine CAFOs

During the last half of the 20th century, agricultural growth and development in the United States became more closely linked to a wide range of social and environmental problems (Edward & Ladd, 2002). Partly as a result of the industrialization of farming and food production, soil and water resources have been degraded, wildlife habitats have been destroyed, and rural communities have been dissolved and uprooted (Gertler, 1992). The scale, mechanization, specialization, capital intensity, and chemical intensity of agricultural production have dramatically increased, with the result that large agribusinesses and individual farm operators have come under greater environmental scrutiny associated with the broader "greening" of public opinion since 1970 (Buttel, 1992).

For many observers, the growing corporate control over the nature of land use and food production in the United States constitutes a major crisis for independent farmers, American culture, and the larger ecosystem (Edwards & Ladd, 2002). According to these authors, "Perhaps nowhere are the socio-environmental implications of agro-industrialization and corporate control better illustrated today than in the case of the swine industry" (p. 27).

Environmental and Health Hazards Associated with CAFOs

The majority of modern swine operations raise thousands of animals in closed confinement buildings (Cole, Todd & Wing, 2000). Such closed-confinement facilities provide effective climate control for both animals and workers and allow for the automation of labor-intensive tasks such as feeding and watering. On the other hand, the large number of animals raised in swine CAFOs creates enormous amounts of dust, dander, and waste materials. Within the confinement buildings, dust particles comprised of swine skin cells, feces, feed, bacteria, and fungi become airborne and contribute to poor indoor air quality (Robertson, 1994). The manure and urine produced in these buildings create numerous gases that may further adversely impact the quality of indoor air. "Thousands of gases, particles, and bioaerosol emissions have been documented in swine facilities. Many pollutants present at these facilities do not have occupational exposure limits (OELs)" (Cole et al., 2000, p. 686).

Virtually all swine CAFOs must cope with a significant amount of on-site waste material that has been linked to serious odors and contains antimicrobials, nutrients, organics, and pathogenic microbes (Cole et al., 2000). For instance, raw swine manure can contain as many as 100 million fecal coliform bacteria per gram (Crane, Moore & Gismer, 1983). Furthermore, it has been estimated that 100 million tons of feces and urine are produced annually by the 60 million hogs raised in the United States (Meadows, 1995).

According to Cole et al. (2000), the detection of specific exposures and diseases in communities surrounding swine CAFOs has presented a challenge for both the industry and healthcare officials because of the added complexities of environmental dispersion of agents and human exposure pathways. The susceptibility of community residents to contaminants and pathogens may also be substantially different from that of workers at the respective facilities. For a detailed overview of how the EPA regulates animal feeding operations, including permitting requirements and water quality standards, the agency's official resources provide authoritative guidance.

Conclusion

The research showed that recent changes in swine-management practices have created a two-fold problem: first, there has been an increase in the health hazards associated with such practices by virtue of the confined spaces in which they are practiced; and second, these changes have caused a public relations problem for the industry, particularly in communities immediately situated near such facilities. However, the research also showed that there are sound steps the industry can take to address these issues, including implementing effective environmental health practices in the workplace and providing anaerobic lagoons to help remediate the large volumes of biological waste inevitably generated at swine CAFOs.