By MEGGIE I. FOSTER
Assistant Editor

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A new report from the Environmental Integrity Project (EIP) recently claimed that air near farm sites appears “dirtier” than some of America’s most polluted cities.

Measurements for the controversial study took place on confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs) in California, Indiana, Iowa and North Carolina.

“The findings of the EIP analysis corroborate a large body of scientific evidence,” said Keeve E. Nachman, PhD, MHS, program director, Farming for the Future, Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future Bloomberg School of Public Health.  “Animal production sites have been repeatedly demonstrated to release a wide spectrum of particulate and gaseous contaminants of concern; exposures to contaminants measured in the NAEMS study have been linked to a spectrum of adverse respiratory and mental health effects.”

The new EIP report states that “Five years ago, EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) suspended enforcement of air pollution laws against CAFOs until the study was complete, and in 2008, EPA exempted CAFOs from some pollution reporting requirements.

The study, evidently anti-large livestock operator, shows that many CAFOs pollute in quantities large enough to trigger emission reporting laws that have applied to many other large industries for decades, and that Clean Air Act protections may be warranted to protect nearby rural citizens.

“The research confirms that the large CAFOs, or factory farms, that dominate the nation’s meat industry are major sources of ammonia emissions and other dangerous air pollutants,” according to the report..

Among the EIP report’s key findings:
The EPA/industry study measured levels of fine particle pollution well above Clean Air Act health-based limits at some sites: Fine particle pollution was much higher than the federal 24-hour exposure limit on the worst days at six of 15 study sites, including five poultry operations in California, Indiana, and North Carolina, and a Washington dairy.

Based on sampling results, 11 of 14 CAFOs in the study emit more than 100 pounds of ammonia on average days, which triggers pollution reporting requirements for non-livestock industries. These industrial-scale emitters include hog farms in Indiana, Iowa, Oklahoma and North Carolina, dairies in Indiana, Washington, and Wisconsin, and egg layer or broiler chicken facilities in California, Indiana and North Carolina.

The air around seven hog and dairy sites – nearly half of the confinements operations studied – exceeded the hydrogen sulfide emission level of 100 pounds per day for entire 24-periods during the study. Long-term ambient levels of hydrogen sulfide were also significantly higher than EPA’s reference concentration of 1 ppb at most study sites.”

“No other major industry in the U.S. would be permitted to pollute at these levels without EPA oversight,” said Tarah Heinzen, attorney and report author, Environmental Integrity Project. “Our findings indicate that citizens near factory farms may be breathing unsafe levels of small particle pollution, ammonia and other toxic gases, and that EPA’s failure to regulate air pollution from these operations may threaten public health. It is time for EPA to overturn the Bush Administration’s backroom deals with the factory farm industry and begin applying consistent federal standards to all major polluters.”

For the full EIP report, visit www.environmentalintegrity.org
The EIP closely analyzed the two-year air quality report conducted by Purdue University researchers that monitored 15 livestock facilities, nine waste lagoons and a dairy corral in nine states. Approved by the EPA, researchers collected and measured background concentrations and emissions of ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, particulates, and volatile organic compounds. EIP used these reports, comparing CAFO air pollution with established health standards and emissions reporting rules to assess the need for increased public health protection from confined animal feeding operations. EIP is an organization established by former EPA enforcement attorneys to advocate for effective enforcement of environmental laws.