162154 Community based monitoring of ambient hydrogen sulfide levels near swine operations

Monday, November 5, 2007

William Allshouse , Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, School of Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
Marc Serre , Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, School of Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
Devon Hall , Rural Empowerment Association for Community Help, Warsaw, NC
Katherine Mills , Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
Steve Wing , Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
Background: Communities with a high density of industrial hog operations report polluted air and water, an increase in adverse health effects, and strong odors that affect their quality of life. The ambient hydrogen sulfide (H2S) concentration is believed to be associated with many episodes of increased odor. These swine facilities are typically located in poorer areas with high minority populations.

Objective/Purpose: A community with a large number of industrial hog operations was selected in order to characterize the atmospheric concentration of H2S. The research required community assistance from persons with knowledge about the odor problems in the area as well as participants that were willing to allow sampling equipment to be placed outside their homes.

Methods: An optimal sampling plan was created using active samplers that recorded 15 minute measurements of H2S and passive samplers that collected for 2 weeks. These two data sources provide enough spatial points to model the effect of sources on air pollution, and to model the amount of spatial and temporal variations in air pollution.

Results: A sinusoidal seasonal trend with a peak (August 7) to trough (February 6) ratio of 99.48 fit the data well. The temporal covariance had a standard deviation of 8.49 and was modeled using a nested exponential/Gaussian model with ranges of 1 day and 6 days, respectively.

Discussion/Conclusions: This is the first known integration of active and passive samplers for modeling H2S. The space/time maps produced in this research show exposure levels experienced by communities near industrial hog operations.

Learning Objectives:
1. To emphasize the importance of getting community participation to place devices for sampling hydrogen sulfide concentrations in an area with a large number of CAFOs 2. To describe the need for both active and passive sampling devices to complement each other in order to characterize hydrogen sulfide as a pollutant 3. To create a model for estimating the concentration of hydrogen sulfide across space and time

Keywords: Environmental Justice, Environmental Exposures

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No
Any institutionally-contracted trials related to this submission?

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

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