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Mismanagement of Manure Can Be Deadly
By Kristen Skopeck, Public Affairs Specialist, USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service
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Because dairy is the number one agricultural industry in New York, an abundance of dairy farms dot the landscape, and cows contribute greatly to farmers' livelihoods here. Ironically, the manure waste generated by those cows can also end the lives of those very farmers.
On average, a milking cow will produce 100-120 pounds of manure a day. The accumulated waste could range from about 5,000 pounds a day on a small dairy farm to more than 80,000 pounds on larger operations. Many producers like to manage their manure as a liquid because it is efficient and convenient. Raw manure is largely water to begin with, and the addition of wash water from the milking parlor makes it flow and pump easily.
Many farms also store their manure for part of the year, because ground conditions, especially during long, frozen winters, aren't always favorable for spreading. When manure is stored, it starts to decompose, and when manure is handled or stored as a liquid, anaerobic (zero oxygen) conditions occur. Under certain conditions, anaerobic decomposition can generate a deadly mix of gasses that can overwhelm, suffocate and poison a person in seconds.
Brian Aldrich, an Extension Associate with Cornell's Manure Management Program, is one of a handful of people in the state trying to educate thousands of people working on farms about potential hazards with manure storage. He said the problem has the potential to get worse as more dairy farms build liquid manure storage systems.
"Commonly, manure collected from the barn goes to a reception or holding pit, from which it is pumped to the storage structure," he said. "Manure storages can be earthen 'ponds' dug in the ground, or upright structures made of concrete or steel. The reception pits are confined spaces in which manure gases may accumulate to deadly levels. Unfortunately, there is no way to predict when deadly levels of manure gas will be produced. A worker may have entered the same space dozens of times without incident, so this makes it harder to warn people that, without taking the right precautions, a day could come when entering a manure pit would be the last action of their lives."
Aldrich said the four main constituents of manure gas are hydrogen sulfide, carbon dioxide, methane, and ammonia. He said carbon dioxide and methane are dangerous but not toxic in themselves. But, because they are gasses that displace oxygen, a person can be affected very quickly when exposed and will rapidly run out of breath. Then, he said, hydrogen sulfide is a poison that can kill rapidly or cause permanent lung damage.
"One of the things that makes this hard to understand is that some people have experience holding their breath under water and think they can hold their breath for 30 seconds and it isn't so hard, but if you get a full breath of methane or carbon dioxide you displace all the oxygen in your lungs and the brain rapidly shuts down. You pass out, or feel very confused and forget why you came to the place to begin with," he said. "Hydrogen sulfide, at low levels, smells like rotten eggs. At dangerous concentrations, it actually knocks out your sense of smell and you can't detect it any longer, and chances are that if you smell it, you are already in grave danger."
Aldrich believes raising awareness and educating people on preventive measures will go a long way in working toward eliminating the fatalities associated with manure gas.
"What is heart breaking about these stories is that a lot of victims are would-be rescuers," he said. "It is when one person is stuck and passes out and then family members go in one by one and perish."
He gave an example of an incident in the state when a worker needed to fix a valve in a reception pit, so he emptied the pit and went to the bottom to work. The temporary valve failed, and manure flooded back into the pit, bringing with it a cloud of manure gas. The worker passed out, and as the pit continued to fill, another worker came down to get him and was also overcome by the gasses. A third worker started down, decided he could not reach the other two, and climbed back out. The first two workers died, and the third suffered permanent lung damage.
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, or NIOSH, created an alert for how to safely enter manure reception pits. The main points are:
"Always post warning signs around manure storage areas
"Do not allow people or animals near manure pits while agitating.
"Provide maximum ventilation when agitating or pumping manure from a pit.
"Never enter a pit unless you have specialized training, equipment and the assistance of another person.
"Do not try to rescue a person who has been overcome by manure gas-immediately call 911 or the local rescue squad, making sure to describe the manure gas hazard.
"My concern is that as more manure storage systems are being built, the risk of accidents is going to go up," Aldrich said. "That is why I think it is a very appropriate time to revisit safety precautions and safety education."
However, just like the Natural Resources Conservation Service, Aldrich said the cooperative extension system does not have enough staff to visit every farm tomorrow to ensure safe practices are implemented. The goal is to provide accurate and timely information as new needs arise in the agricultural community. To that end, he has helped to produce some educational posters and has directed people to where they can purchase warning signs to post near manure storage pits.
"The hope is to raise awareness of two main points," he said. "The first is that manure gas can kill you in high concentrations, and the other is that entering confined spaces used for manure storage is very dangerous. If that message pervades the farms across New York, we'll have many fewer fatalities and accidents associated with manure management."
Aldrich and his colleagues posted information on this issue on the following website: www.manuremanagement.cornell.edu. A link to the poster he created can be found on the website as well.
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