AIR EMISSIONS From Animal Feeding Operations
Current Knowledge, Future Needs
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This study was supported by Contract No. 68-D-01-69 between the National Academy of Sciences and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Grant No. 59-0790-2-106 between the National Academy of Sciences and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the organizations or agencies that provided support for the project.
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AD HOC COMMITTEE ON AIR EMISSIONS FROM ANIMAL FEEDING OPERATIONS
PERRY R. HAGENSTEIN (Chair),
Institute for Forest Analysis, Planning, and Policy, Wayland, Massachusetts
ROBERT G. FLOCCHINI (Vice Chair),
University of California, Davis, California
JOHN C. BAILAR III,
University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
CANDIS CLAIBORN,
Washington State University, Pullman, Washington
RUSSELL R. DICKERSON,
University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland
JAMES N. GALLOWAY,
University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia
MARGARET ROSSO GROSSMAN,
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois
PRASAD KASIBHATLA,
Duke University, Durham, North Carolina
RICHARD A. KOHN,
University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland
MICHAEL P. LACY,
University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia
CALVIN B. PARNELL, JR.,
Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas
ROBBI H. PRITCHARD,
South Dakota State University, Brookings, South Dakota
WAYNE P. ROBARGE,
North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina
DANIEL A. WUBAH,
James Madison University, Harrisonburg, Virginia
KELLY D. ZERING,
North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina
RUIHONG ZHANG,
University of California, Davis, California
Consultant
MICHAEL OPPENHEIMER,
Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey
Staff
JAMIE JONKER, Study Director
CHAD TOLMAN, Program Officer
TANJA PILZAK, Research Assistant
JOE ESPARZA, Project Assistant
STEPHANIE PADGHAM, Project Assistant
BRYAN SHIPLEY, Project Assistant
PETER RODGERS, Intern
FLORENCE POILLON, Contract Editor
COMMITTEE ON ANIMAL NUTRITION
GARY L. CROMWELL (Chair),
University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky
C. ROSELINA ANGEL,
University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland
JESSE P. GOFF,
United States Department of Agriculture/Agricultural Research Service, Ames, Iowa
RONALD W. HARDY,
University of Idaho, Hagerman, Idaho
KRISTEN A. JOHNSON,
Washington State University, Pullman, Washington
BRIAN W. MCBRIDE,
University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada
KEITH E. RINEHART,
Perdue Farms Incorporated, Salisbury, Maryland
L. LEE SOUTHERN,
Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
DONALD R. TOPLIFF,
West Texas A&M University, Canyon, Texas
Staff
JAMIE JONKER, Program Officer
JOE ESPARZA, Project Assistant
BOARD ON AGRICULTURE AND NATURAL RESOURCES
HARLEY W. MOON (Chair),
Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa
SANDRA BARTHOLMEY,
Quaker Oats Company, Barrington, Illinois
DEBORAH BLUM,
University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin
ROBERT B. FRIDLEY,
University of California, Davis, California
BARBARA GLENN,
Federation of Animal Science Societies, Bethesda, Maryland
LINDA GOLODNER,
National Consumers League, Washington, D.C.
W.R. (REG) GOMES,
University of California, Oakland, California
PERRY R. HAGENSTEIN,
Institute for Forest Analysis, Planning, and Policy, Wayland, Massachusetts
CALESTOUS JUMA,
Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts
JANET C. KING,
University of California, Davis, California
WHITNEY MACMILLAN,
Cargill, Incorporated, Minneapolis, Minnesota
PAMELA A. MATSON,
Stanford University, Stanford, California
TERRY MEDLEY,
DuPont Biosolutions Enterprise, Wilmington, Delaware
ALICE PELL,
Cornell University, Ithaca, New York
SHARRON S. QUISENBERRY,
Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana
NANCY J. RACHMAN,
Novigen Sciences, Incorporated, Washington, D.C.
SONYA SALAMON,
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois
G. EDWARD SCHUH,
University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota
BRIAN STASKAWICZ,
University of California, Berkeley, California
JACK WARD THOMAS,
University of Montana, Missoula, Montana
JAMES TUMLINSON,
United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Gainesville, Florida
B.L. TURNER,
Clark University, Worcester, Massachusetts
Staff
CHARLOTTE KIRK BAER, Director
STEPHANIE PADGHAM, Senior Project Assistant
BOARD ON ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES AND TOXICOLOGY
GORDON ORIANS (Chair),
University of Washington, Seattle, Washington
JOHN DOULL (Vice Chair),
University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, Missouri
DAVID ALLEN,
University of Texas, Austin, Texas
THOMAS BURKE,
Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland
JUDITH C. CHOW,
Desert Research Institute, Reno, Nevada
CHRISTOPHER B. FIELD,
Carnegie Institute of Washington, Stanford, California
WILLIAM H. GLAZE,
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
SHERRI W. GOODMAN,
Center for Naval Analyses, Alexandria, Virginia
DANIEL S. GREENBAUM,
Health Effects Institute, Cambridge, Massachusetts
ROGENE HENDERSON,
Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute, Albuquerque, New Mexico
CAROL HENRY,
American Chemistry Council, Arlington, Virginia
ROBERT HUGGETT,
Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan
BARRY L. JOHNSON,
Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia
JAMES H. JOHNSON,
Howard University, Washington, D.C.
JAMES A. MACMAHON,
Utah State University, Logan, Utah
PATRICK V. O’BRIEN,
Chevron Research and Technology, Richmond, California
DOROTHY E. PATTON,
International Life Sciences Institute, Washington, D.C.
ANN POWERS,
Pace University School of Law, White Plains, New York
LOUISE M. RYAN,
Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts
JONATHAN M. SAMET,
Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland
KIRK SMITH,
University of California, Berkeley, California
LISA SPEER,
Natural Resources Defense Council, New York, New York
G. DAVID TILMAN,
University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota
CHRIS G. WHIPPLE,
Environ Incorporated, Emeryville, California
LAUREN A. ZEISE,
California Environmental Protection Agency, Oakland, California
Staff
JAMES J. REISA, Director
RAY WASSEL, Program Director
MIMI ANDERSON, Senior Project Assistant
Acknowledgments
This report represents the integrated efforts of many individuals. The committee thanks all those who shared their insights and knowledge to bring the document to fruition. We also thank all those who provided information at our public meetings and who participated in our public sessions.
During the course of its deliberations, the committee sought assistance from several people who gave generously of their time to provide advice and information that were considered in its deliberations. Special thanks are due the following:
JOHN ALBERTSON, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina
C. RICHARD AMERMAN, United States Department of Agriculture, Beltsville, Maryland
BOB BOTTCHER (Deceased), North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina
GARTH BOYD, Murphy-Brown LLC, Warsaw, North Carolina
LEONARD BULL, Animal and Poultry Waste Center, Raleigh, North Carolina
TOM CHRISTENSEN, United States Department of Agriculture, Beltsville, Maryland
JOHN D. CRENSHAW, Eastern Research Group, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina
TONY DELANY, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado
RALPH ERNST, University of California, Davis, California
MICHAEL FITZGIBBON, California Environmental Protection Agency, Sacramento, California
ERIC GONDER, Goldsboro Milling Company, Goldsboro, North Carolina
ALEX GUENTHER, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado
ELLEN HANKES, Environmental Management Solutions, LLC, Des Moines, Iowa
LOWRY HARPER, United States Department of Agriculture, Watkinsville, Georgia
BRUCE HARRIS, United States Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina
TOM HORST, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado
DONALD JOHNSON, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado
RENEE JOHNSON, United States Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C.
RAY KNIGHTON, United States Department of Agriculture, Beltsville, Maryland
GARY MARGHEIM, United States Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C.
JOHN H. MARTIN, JR., Hall Associates, Dover, Delaware
F. ROBERT MCGREGOR, Water and Waste Engineering, Incorporated, Denver, Colorado
DEANNE MEYER, University of California, Davis, California
BOB MOSER, ConAgra Beef, Kersey, Colorado
DANIEL MURPHY, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Boulder, Colorado
BRENT NEWELL, California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation, Sacramento, California
ROY OOMMEN, Eastern Research Group, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina
JOSEPH RUDEK, Environmental Defense, Raleigh, North Carolina
GARY SAUNDERS, North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Raleigh, North Carolina
SUSAN SCHIFFMAN, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina
SALLY SHAVER, United States Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina
MARK SOBSEY, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
JOHN SWEETEN, Texas A&M University, Amarillo, Texas
DAVID TOWNSEND, Premium Standard Farms Research and Development, Kansas City, Missouri
RANDY WAITE, United States Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina
JOHN T. WALKER, United States Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina
The committee is grateful to members of the National Research Council staff who worked diligently to maintain progress and quality in its work.
The report has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the National Research Council’s Report Review Committee. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the institution in making its published report as sound as possible and to ensure that the report meets institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process. We wish to thank the following individuals for their review of this report:
DAVID T. ALLEN, The University of Texas, Austin, Texas
WILLIAM BATTYE, EC/R Incorporated, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
VAN C. BOWERSOX, Illinois State Water Survey, Champaign, Illinois
ELLIS B. COWLING, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina
DANNY G. FOX, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York
ROGENE HENDERSON, National Environmental Respiratory Center, Albuquerque, New Mexico
KRISTEN A. JOHNSON, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington
DEANNE MEYER, University of California, Davis, California
GEORGE MOUNT, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington
ROGER A. PIELKE, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado
WENDY J. POWERS, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa
JOSEPH RUDEK, Environmental Defense, Raleigh, North Carolina
MARGOT RUDSTROM, University of Minnesota, Morris, Minnesota
Although the reviewers listed above have provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the conclusions or recommendations, nor did they see the final draft of the report before its release. The review of this report was overseen by Bob Frosch, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Albert Heber, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana. Appointed by the National Research Council, they were responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this report was carried out in accordance with institutional procedures and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content of this report rests entirely with the authoring committee and the institution.
Preface
The increasing concentration of food production—meat, eggs, milk—from animals in very large feeding operations has focused public attention on associated environmental issues. These include the effects of air emissions, especially those that come from the large quantities of manure produced by the animals. While concern has mounted, research to provide the basic information needed for effective regulation and management of these emissions has languished.
This report, prepared by a committee appointed by the National Research Council, proposes two major ways to improve information and the nation’s ability to deal with the effects of these emissions. One is to change the way in which the rates and fate of air emissions are estimated and tracked. The proposal would replace the current “emission factor” approach with a “process-based modeling” approach. This can, if pursued vigorously, enhance both regulation and management of air emissions in the next two to five years.
The other proposal is for a research program that views air emissions as one part of the overall system of producing food from animal feeding operations with the goal of eliminating the release of unwanted emissions into the environment. This “systems-based” proposal, if also pursued vigorously, would lead to fundamentally changed practices at animal feeding operations. The net result would be continued food production with greatly reduced adverse environmental effects.
The 16-person committee that produced this report and an earlier interim report worked hard and well. The time allowed for producing the two reports was short, but committee members found time in their schedules to address what each sees as an important issue that needs attention. The project staff at the Board on Agriculture and Natural Resources, Jamie Jonker, study director, and Tanja Pilzak, research assistant, and the Board on Environmental Studies and Toxicol-
ogy, Chad Tolman, program officer, deserve special thanks for their long hours of very effective work. An informal editorial subcommittee that handled reviewer comments and provided enormous help throughout also deserves special thanks. The members were Chair Perry Hagenstein, Vice Chair Bob Flocchini, Jim Galloway, Rick Kohn, and, for the interim report, Wayne Robarge.
Perry Hagenstein, Chair
Robert Flocchini, Vice Chair
Committee on Air Emissions from Animal Feeding Operations
Tables, Figures, and Boxes
TABLES
ES-1 |
Committee’s Scientific Evaluation of the Potential Importance of AFO Emissions at Different Spatial Scales, |
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1-1 |
Substances in AFO Emissions That the Committee Was Tasked to Address and Their Respective Classifications, |
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2-1 |
U.S. Per Capita Consumption of Meat, Dairy Products, and Eggs in 2001, |
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2-2 |
Leading Livestock Production States by Animal Sector, |
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2-3 |
Number of Animals per EPA Animal Unit, |
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3-1 |
Annual Anthropogenic Emissions of Constituents of Concern, 1990, |
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3-2 |
Measured Emission Fluxes of Ammonia from Primary Anaerobic Swine Lagoons as a Function of Measurement Method and Period, |
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3-3 |
Relationship of Management Practices on 4 percent Fat Corrected Milk and Nitrogen Utilization Efficiency, |
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3-4 |
Typical Lifetimes in the Planetary Boundary Layer for Pollutants Emitted from Animal Feeding Operations, |
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3-5 |
Short-Term Exposure to Ammonia, |
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3-6 |
Long-Term Exposure to Ammonia, |
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3-7 |
Committee’s Scientific Evaluation of the Potential Importance of AFO Emissions at Different Spatial Scales, |
5-1 |
Maximum Methane Production Potential of Animal Manure as Affected by Different Diets, |
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6-1 |
Overview of Federal Statutes and Their Provisions, |
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8-1 |
Committee’s Scientific Evaluation of the Potential Importance of AFO Emissions at Different Spatial Scales, |
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D-1 |
Typical Nitrogen and Sulfur Content of Animal Products, |
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D-2 |
Nitrogen and Sulfur Content of Animal Live Weight Gain, |
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D-3 |
Sample Excretion Predictions Directly from Different Types of Food Production Animals, |
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L-1 |
Odor Emission Rates from Animal Housing as Reported in the Literature, |
FIGURES
1-1 |
Mass flows (teragrams of nitrogen per year) of new reactive nitrogen in U.S. agriculture in 1997, |
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3-1 |
Relative excretion rate of nitrogen versus day in the life cycle of a grow-finish hog at a commercial swine production facility in the southeastern United States, |
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3-2 |
Nitrogen cascade, |
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4-1 |
Ammonia concentrations (averaged over a 68-m path) measured near a dairy wastewater lagoon, |
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4-2 |
Schematic illustrating the essential elements associated with measurement of emissions from agricultural sources that can be characterized as low-level point sources such as cotton gins, feed mills, grain elevators, and oil mills, |
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4-3 |
Schematic illustrating the essential elements associated with measurement of emissions from agricultural sources that can be characterized as ground-level area sources such as dairies, cattle feed yards, field operation, and agricultural burning, |
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4-4 |
Schematic illustrating the essential element associated with regulation of emissions from agricultural sources that can be characterized as low-level point sources such as tunnel-ventilated AFOs, |
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4-5 |
Schematic illustrating the essential element associated with regulation of emissions from agricultural sources that can be characterized as low-level point sources such as naturally ventilated AFOs, |
5-1 |
A schematic representation of a process-based model of emissions from an animal production system, |
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7-1 |
Animal feeding operations system (animal plus associated cropland), |
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D-1 |
Change in body protein percentage as cattle mature, |
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K-1 |
Distribution of milk cows in 1997, |
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K-2 |
Distribution of cattle fattened on grain and concentrates and sold in 1997, |
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K-3 |
Distribution of hogs and pigs sold in 1997, |
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K-4 |
Distribution of broilers and other meat-type chickens sold in 1997, |
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K-5 |
Distribution of turkeys sold in 1997, |
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K-6 |
Distribution of layers and pullets, 13 weeks old and older in 1997, |
BOXES