Health impacts

The previous pages have shown that the air in chicken sheds contains toxic gases and an aerosol of small particles arising from the food supplied, litter material, faeces, skin flakes and feather particles.. These particles are capable of absorbing colony-forming bacteria, fungi, endotoxins and other toxins. Because this atmosphere is damaging to the health and productivity of the hens and also to personnel working in the sheds there are Animal Welfare and Health and Safety requirements to keep replenishing the air in the sheds by exhausting this bio-hazard as a plume of pollution into the external atmosphere.

Common sense suggests that this plume, which is a mix of ammonia and other gases, ammonium particulate matter and bio-aerosols will also represent a realistic hazard to receptors external to the chicken sheds, particularly to children and elderly and vulnerable receptors. There is growing evidence that this is the case as analytical techniques become more sensitive and air-sampling techniques become more refined.

Perhaps the most frequently cited research has been carried out in the Netherlands (1 and references therein), which revealed that there was an 11% increased risk of developing community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) for adults living within one kilometre of intensive poultry farms, due to the emission of particles and endotoxins. A later epidemiaological study indicated that living near intensive poultry units was responsible for a 7.2% increase in cases of CAP over a five year period. An American study in Pennsylvania (3) showed that in regions with a high density of intensive poultry units there was a 66% increased likelihood of CAP diagnosis and concluded that ".....residing closer to more and larger poultry operations was associated with CAP, a cause of significant morbidity and death". A review of the public health risk of bioaerosols from intensive farming noted that four studies of asthma in children found increased an prevalence of reports in asthma for children attending school or living near intensive farms (4).

Cononsyth Farms Ltd. have a bio-energy plant and whilst the debate continues about whether this form of energy generation can be described as sustainable, it is well recognised (5) that burning bio-mass releases particulate matter into the atmosphere in the sub-10 micron range. We therefore have concerns that there is the potential for a higher background level of particulate matter surrounding Cononsyth Farms Ltd. which would be increased by the exhaust plume from the proposed chicken sheds and that this cumulative effect should be taken into account in any planning decision. Understandably, COGEO have not identified this in their Scoping Request.

We believe that there is enough evidence of the negative health impact of large-scale intensive poultry units on local residents that a national moratorium should be declared on their construction .

REFERENCES FOR HEALTH IMPACTS

  1. "Increased risk of pneumonia in residents living near poultry farms: does the upper respiratory tract microbiota play a role?" Smit et al. Pneumonia (Nathan) 2017; 9, 3

  2. "Associations between pneumonia and residential distance to livestock farms over a five-year period in a large population-based study." D. A. Kalkowska, PLoS One. 2018; 13(7): e0200813. Published online 2018 Jul 17. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0200813

  3. "High-density poultry operations and community-acquired pneumonia in Pennsylvania." Poulsen et al • Environmental Epidemiology (2018) 2:e013

  4. "A systematic review of the public health risks of bioaerosols from intensive farming." P. Douglas et al., Int.Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health. 221 (2018) 134-173.

  5. . "AIR QUALITY EXPERT GROUP - The Potential Air Quality Impacts from Biomass Combustion." DEFRA 2017.