Purdue University has wrapped up its work in collecting data on
the two-year National Air Emissions Monitoring Study requested
by the Environmental Protection Agency to look at air quality
issues on and around livestock and poultry farms. Lead
researcher Al Heber, a professor of agricultural and biological
engineering at Purdue, says the data has been submitted to the
EPA and a summary report provided to the agency. But much more
remains to be done. The next phase is studying and publishing
the dynamics and causes of the emissions and “mining” the
extensive data for more information. For its part, EPA is using
the data to develop formulas that could be used by animal
feeding operations or agencies to estimate their emissions.
“What we collected is baseline data,” Heber says. “The quantity
of emissions depends on how waste is collected, treated and
stored; the number and type of animals; and the weather.” In
all, Heber and his team collected data from more than 2,300
sensors at a total of 38 barns on 14 farms