Can Spills from Swine Lagoons Result in Downstream Health Hazards? Active
A typical pen format for swine in many Iowa animal feeding operations
Livestock manure spills have been shown to result from events such as equipment failures, over-application of manure to agricultural fields, runoff from open feedlots, storage overflow, accidents with manure transporting equipment, and severe weather.
Our specialized teams of hydrologists, chemists, biologists and geologists, in collaboration with Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, studied a stream in Iowa after the release of a large volume of swine manure (a manure spill) caused a fish kill in the impacted stream.
The scientists observed an increase in viruses and bacteria, which have the potential to cause human or swine disease, in the stream water and(or) stream bed sediments as far as 4 kilometers from the spill origin for several weeks.
Questions We're Working On:
How often do these spills occur?
Is there an actual health hazard posed to downstream livestock, wildlife, or the public as a result of these spills?
Below are other science projects associated with this project.
Food Resources Lifecycle Integrated Science Team
- Overview
Livestock manure spills have been shown to result from events such as equipment failures, over-application of manure to agricultural fields, runoff from open feedlots, storage overflow, accidents with manure transporting equipment, and severe weather.
Our specialized teams of hydrologists, chemists, biologists and geologists, in collaboration with Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, studied a stream in Iowa after the release of a large volume of swine manure (a manure spill) caused a fish kill in the impacted stream.
The scientists observed an increase in viruses and bacteria, which have the potential to cause human or swine disease, in the stream water and(or) stream bed sediments as far as 4 kilometers from the spill origin for several weeks.
Questions We're Working On:
How often do these spills occur?
Is there an actual health hazard posed to downstream livestock, wildlife, or the public as a result of these spills?
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media DetailsUSGS scientist collecting a water sample from the stream prior to the swine manure spill. (Credit: Dana W Kolpin, US Geological Survey. Public domain.) - Science
Below are other science projects associated with this project.
Food Resources Lifecycle Integrated Science Team
The team studies the movement of toxicants and pathogens that could originate from the growing, raising, and processing/manufacturing of plant and animal products through the environment where exposure can occur. This information is used to understand if there are adverse effects upon exposure and to develop decision tools to protect health.