ODOR, TOTAL REDUCED SULFUR, AND AMMONIA EMISSIONS FROM ANIMAL HOUSING FACILITIES AND MANURE STORAGE UNITS IN MINNESOTA

Abstract

The quantification of odor, total reduced sulfur (TRS), and ammonia (NH3) emissions from animal housingfacilities and manure storage units is essential for the development and implementation of improved setback evaluationmethods and tools. This observational study measured odor, TRS, and NH3 levels emitted from more than 200 animal housingfacilities and manure storage units on 85 farms in Minnesota. Emissions were highly variable in accordance with observationsfrom other large air quality studies. Possible reasons for the large variation in emissions data included differences betweensampling sites and season or ambient temperature. Odor, TRS, and NH3 emissions were typically highest from swine housingfacilities and concrete tanks containing swine or dairy manure. Pearsons correlation matrix calculated significant (p < 0.05)and strong correlations between odor and TRS emissions (r = 0.947) and odor and NH3 emissions (r = 0.954) from swinehousing only. Therefore, TRS and/or NH3 emissions from swine housing facilities are potential proxies for odor emissions.This study was strictly observational and not a controlled experiment. Thus, odor TRS and NH3 emissions reported in thisstudy may not apply to other geographic locations.