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ISU-UK Air Monitoring Study Makes Grade with EPA
By
Laura Skillman
PRINCETON, Ky., (Nov. 15, 2006) – Agricultural engineers from
Iowa State University and the University of Kentucky are more
than halfway through collecting air emissions data from two
commercial broiler houses in western Kentucky in a study
proposed to be used as part of a national air emissions study.
The ISU/UK project quality assurance project plan (QAPP) was
approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Sept.
25. Battelle Labs and the EPA have also completed a Technical
Systems Audit (TSA) of the ISU/UK monitoring project. Approval
of the project QAPP and completion of the TSA are the most
important milestones toward use of the project data to represent
air emissions from southeastern broiler systems in the National
Air Emissions Monitoring Study (NAEMS) under the air compliance
agreement between EPA and certain sectors of the livestock and
poultry industries.
The national study will eventually include air emissions data
from swine houses and manure storage facilities, poultry houses
and manure storage facilities, and free-stall dairy facilities
across the country. Currently the ISU/UK broiler emissions study
is the only study in which researchers are collecting data that
is proposed to be used in the NAEMS effort.
Data will be collected, then analyzed and reported to the EPA.
The idea behind the monitoring is to gather baseline information
that can be used to evaluate differences in emissions due to
geographical region, season of the year, time of day, building
design, growth cycle of the animals and building management.
Notably, the emissions data will provide a scientific basis for
improving the national emissions inventory and establishing
appropriate air emissions guidelines.
The QAPP approval process, as well as a related technical
systems audit to confirm that the ISU/UK broiler emissions
project is in compliance with written procedures, was conducted
in late September with auditors from both EPA and Battelle Labs.
Robert Burns, an associate professor of agricultural and
biosystems engineering at ISU, is the project leader. Hongwei
Xin, professor of agricultural and biosystems engineering at ISU,
and Richard Gates, professor and chair of the biosystems and
agricultural engineering department at UK, are project
co-leaders.
“We were told that the same Battelle auditors and the EPA Region
5 auditors who trained at our site will be auditing the NAEMS
projects in the future,” Burns said. “Since our project is the
first to be collecting data, our team was happy to serve in a
leadership role by providing the site where the EPA auditors
could train in order to prepare for audits at the NAEMS sites
that will begin monitoring sometime next year.”
The $1 million project in Kentucky, funded by Tyson Foods and
the National Chicken Council, originally was designed to monitor
just ammonia emissions but was later expanded to include carbon
dioxide, three types of particulate matter, hydrogen sulfide and
non-methane hydrocarbons. The study has been ongoing for
approximately one year and has already collected data on ammonia
emissions. The other parameters in the study have been collected
since February 2006. The study will conclude in February 2007. A
similar broiler-monitoring project is proposed to occur in
California.
Steve Patrick, Tyson Foods Environmental, Health and Safety
Operations director, was also in attendance at the recent audit
and heavily involved in the QAPP approval process.
“The university team did an excellent job of describing their
approach to the challenge of emissions measurement in broiler
housing,” he said. “I was impressed with their combination of
scientific credibility and hands-on practical approach.”
“Although a final report on the audit will be forthcoming, the
audit team was complimentary of the effort and planning that has
gone into this project,” Gates said. “While I know our project
is impressive, I was still happy to see satisfied auditors.”
Burns, Xin and several research assistants and students designed
and built the two mobile air emissions monitoring units for the
project. Hong Li, an ISU postdoctoral research associate, wrote
software to run the equipment and data collection system. The
mobile labs filled with state-of-the-art instruments are
positioned beside two mechanically ventilated commercial broiler
production facilities. Each building houses about 26,000 birds.
Using continuous, high-speed satellite Internet, Burns, Xin and
Li at ISU and Gates in Lexington can view real-time data from
the two mobile labs, such as current temperature, relative
humidity, barometric pressure, ammonia and particulate matter
concentrations, which fans are operating and the total building
ventilation rate. They also can remotely control the emissions
sampling, turning valves on and off from their computers.
Doug Overhults, UK associate Extension professor, and John
Earnest Jr., staff engineer, at the UK Research and Education
Center in Princeton, Ky., are responsible for twice-weekly and
as-needed site visits to ensure smooth operation of the system.
The ISU team also travels to Kentucky between flocks to perform
technical auditing and maintenance, as needed, of the entire
monitoring system – one of the many, stringent QAPP procedures.
“The approved QAPP will not only continue to serve as the road
map for the completion of this project but should prove
beneficial to the planning and implementation of the future
NAEMS projects,” Xin said. |
Contact: Richard Gates, (859) 257-3000 ext. 127
Robert Burns, (515) 294-4203
Hongwei Xin, (515) 294-4240 |
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