Endotoxin Levels at Swine Farms Using Different Waste Treatment and Management Technologies

Concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) are a major source of airborne endotoxins, which are air pollutants that can cause adverse health effects to both on-site farmers and neighbors. Release of airborne endotoxins to the environment can be reduced using proper waste treatment and management technologies. In this study, the levels of endotoxins released from two swine CAFOs using conventional lagoon-sprayfield technology were compared to those of 15 farms using various alternative waste management technologies in North Carolina. Over a 2-year period, 236 endotoxin samples were collected from the 17 farm units and analyzed using the Limulus amebocyte lysate (LAL) test. Concentrations of airborne endotoxins near barn exhaust fans were significantly higher than at the upwind boundary of the farm and at other farm sites. For most of the study sites, mean concentrations of endotoxins at the downwind boundary of the farm were higher than those at the upwind boundary of the farm, indicating the release of endotoxins from swine CAFOs to the neighboring environment. Endotoxin levels were significantly associated with concentrations of airborne bacteria but not fungi. Environmental factors, such as temperature, relative humidity, and wind velocity, affected the levels of airborne endotoxins at the farms. Based on the ratios of airborne endotoxins in downwind and upwind samples from the farm units, at least five different alternative waste management technologies significantly reduced the release of endotoxins from swine CAFOs. These results suggest that swine CAFOs are important sources of airborne endotoxins, the levels of which can be reduced by applying more robust and effective waste management technologies.