title: Characterization and dispersion modeling of odors from a piggery facility.
abstract: Piggeries are known for their nuisance odors, creating problems for workers and nearby residents. Chemical substances that contribute to these odors include sulfurous organic compounds, hydrogen sulfide, phenols and indoles, ammonia, volatile amines, and volatile fatty acids. In this work, daily mean concentrations of ammonia (NH3) and hydrogen sulfide (H2S) were measured by hand-held devices. Measurements were taken in several places within the facility (farrowing to finishing rooms). Hydrogen sulfide concentration was found to be 40 to 50 times higher than the human odor threshold value in the nursery and fattening room, resulting in strong nuisance odors. Ammonia concentrations ranged from 2 to 18 mL m(-3) and also contributed to the total odor nuisance. Emission data from various chambers of the pig farm were used with the dispersion model AERMOD to determine the odor nuisance caused due to the presence of H2S and NH3 to receptors at various distances from the facility. Because just a few seconds of exposure can cause an odor nuisance, a "peak-to-mean" ratio was used to predict the maximum odor concentrations. Several scenarios were examined using the modified AERMOD program, taking into account the complex terrain around the pig farm.
authors.affiliation: Dep. of Environmental Engineering, Technical Univ. of Crete, Chania, Greece.
authors.forename: Petros
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Karageorgos
authors.forename: Manolis
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Latos
authors.forename: Christos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mpasiakos
authors.forename: Elefterios
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Chalarakis
authors.forename: Emmanuel
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Dimitrakakis
authors.forename: Charis
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Daskalakis
authors.forename: Elefteria
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Psillakis
authors.forename: Mihalis
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lazaridis
authors.forename: Nicolas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kalogerakis
mesh_terms: D000383:Agriculture; D000392:Air Movements; D000393:Air Pollutants; D000641:Ammonia; D000818:Animals; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D006799:Housing, Animal; D006862:Hydrogen Sulfide; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D009812:Odorants; D013552:Swine
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants; D000641:Ammonia; D006862:Hydrogen Sulfide