Livestock Ammonia Management and Particulate-Related Health Benefits
- 30 January 2002
- journal article
- policy analysis
- Published by American Chemical Society (ACS) in Environmental Science & Technology
- Vol. 36 (6), 1141-1146
- https://doi.org/10.1021/es010705g
Abstract
Agricultural operations are the largest source of ammonia emissions in the United States and contribute to the formation of ammonium nitrate and ammonium sulfate, two prevalent forms of fine particulate matter. Researchers have found an association between fine particulate matter and a variety of adverse healths effects, including premature mortality, chronic bronchitis, hospital admissions, and asthma attacks. Management practices that reduce ammonia emissions may decrease adverse health effects, resulting in significant economic benefits. We estimated the impact of a variety of emission controls, including diet optimization, alum, and incorporation of manure into the land. The results suggest that relatively modest management policies can have a significant impact on fine particulate formation in the atmosphere. Because of the heterogeneous nature of particulate matter, a key question is the importance of particulate matter size and composition. To the extent that ammonium nitrate and ammonium sulfate contribute to adverse health effects, ammonia management may have significant health implications. Our results suggest that a 10% reduction in livestock ammonia emissions can lead to over $4 billion annually in particulate-related health benefits.Keywords
This publication has 33 references indexed in Scilit:
- Fine Particulate Air Pollution and Mortality in 20 U.S. Cities, 1987–1994New England Journal of Medicine, 2000
- Association of fine particulate matter from different sources with daily mortality in six U.S. cities.Environmental Health Perspectives, 2000
- Air Pollution and Hospital Admissions for Diseases of the Circulatory System in Three U.S. Metropolitan AreasJournal of the Air & Waste Management Association, 2000
- Lines that connect: assessing the causality inference in the case of particulate pollution.Environmental Health Perspectives, 2000
- Fine Particles Are More Strongly Associated than Coarse Particles with Acute Respiratory Health Effects in SchoolchildrenEpidemiology, 2000
- Feeding Strategy, Nitrogen Cycling, and Profitability of Dairy FarmsJournal of Dairy Science, 1999
- Consequences of new scientific findings for future abatement of ammonia emissionsEnvironmental Pollution, 1998
- Cost-effective strategies for the abatement of ammonia emissions from European agricultureAtmospheric Environment, 1998
- Ammonia volatilization from dairy farming systems in temperate areas: a reviewNutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems, 1998
- Swedish measures to reduce ammonia emissionsNutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems, 1998