Particulate matter at high concentrations can affect the health of both workers and animals in livestock facilities. Although the problem is well known, researchers say the exact concentrations of such particulate matter within and outside of the swine barns at different times is poorly understood.
A $500,000 grant from the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research will help a Purdue University team led by Jiqin (JQ) Ni document air-quality issues surrounding pork production in partnership with the National Pork Board.
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, particulate matter measuring less than 2.5 and 10 microns (much smaller than the width of a human hair) is the most hazardous.
“We don’t have enough data. One of the issues is the lack of appropriate measurement technology,” Ni, a professor of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, explains in a Purdue University release.
Jae Hong Park, assistant professor in the School of Health Sciences in the College of Health and Human Sciences, and Brian Richert, associate professor of animal sciences in the College of Agriculture, are collaborating with Ni. Richert will design the swine barn test environment to operate under a range of controlled conditions and particulate matter concentrations, while Park, a certified industrial hygienist, focuses on aerosol science and technology.
“Anything in the air, that’s my target,” Park, who develops both sensors and samplers, says in the release. Park will develop a sensor station that consists of several air-quality sensors for this project.
Swine barns are complex environments that can generate gases such as ammonia that may attach to dust, the researchers explain. Particulate matter concentrations can vary greatly with different ventilations and weather conditions. In summer, swine barns increase ventilation rates by operating more fans and opening inlets and curtains, the article says. In winter, the barns operate with minimal ventilation to keep pigs warm. These different conditions affect both indoor and outdoor particulate matter concentrations.
“Poor air quality can have harmful effects on farm workers, their animals and the neighboring communities,” Constance Gewa, Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR) senior program director, points out in a FFAR release. “In order to improve air quality on swine farms, the current amount of particulate matter on and around farms needs to be accurately and reliably measured. However, current particulate matter measurement methods are not specific for agriculture.”
Changing concentrations should be monitored and mapped, researchers say, but technologies to do this are expensive, difficult to operate and slow to produce results. Although there are many commercially available technologies for particulate matter measurement, Ni points out none are designed for agriculture and livestock use. Active animals stir up particulate matter of different sizes and concentrations. Most of the particulate matter will settle quickly, while some will be blown out of the barns through the fans, the Purdue release says.
The researchers’ objective is to develop a new technology that is low cost, with a faster response and easy to use. After carefully selecting particulate matter sensing units from the commercially available models, Ni and his team will develop the needed sensor unit combined with software and a solar power supply.
The tests will provide confidence that this new technology will generate accurate concentration measurement data, Ni says.
“We will develop a laboratory system to calibrate our technology to make sure it is compatible with high-end technology. We will also validate the technology in field conditions,” Ni says in the Purdue release.
The first tests will take place in a controlled environment swine barn at Purdue’s Animal Science Research and Education Center. Researchers will monitor the concentrations of particulate matter at different locations in rooms that house pigs at all stages of their development, from nursing during lactation to fully grown. The team will also validate the technology at commercial swine farms in Indiana and Ohio.
Park believes the work will have potential applications in barns and housing not only for swine, but also for poultry and other livestock and for handling powders in the food industry.
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