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Dust levels don’t travel well from poultry houses: study
Story Date: 8/7/2013
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Source: Tom Johnston, MEATINGPLACE, 8/6/13
Air particulates seem to quickly dilute or deposit on the ground within a relatively short distance downwind of poultry houses, according to a recent study by the University of Georgia’s poultry science department.
The study, entitled “Monitoring of fine particulates downwind of broiler houses — a field study” and published in The Journal of Applied Poultry Research, comes amid growing concerns among producers and their neighbors over air emissions. Much research has been done to quantify emission rates, but little has been done specifically on air quality downwind of poultry houses.
Researchers measured particulate matter of no more than 2.5 micrometers in diameter on a four-house commercial broiler farm in northeast Georgia over the last four weeks of a summer flock on built-up litter, providing for optimal conditions for data collection at various distances and time.
The study found that concentrations of particulate matter were heighted near poultry houses, but quickly were diluted or deposited on the ground.
“Though fine particulates become entrained in air masses and can travel many miles (plumes from cities), the contribution from a small source, such as a poultry farm, seems to quickly be diluted or deposited on the ground within a short distance from the source,” the scientists wrote in the study.
They concluded: “Based on the data observed, the effect of background levels of particulate matter in the area appear to be a more significant factor than the contribution from the poultry houses at distances greater than 30 [meters] from the houses.”
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