Hydrogen sulfide assessment in shallow-pit swine housing and outside manure storage

In Saskatchewan, some recent incidents have lead us to believe that certain manure management activities can potentially release high concentrations of H2S into the atmosphere of shallow-pit barns. The objectives of the monitoring project reported here were to evaluate worker exposure to H2S during the completion of the following tasks: emptying of in-barn shallow manure pits, power washing of barn rooms, and agitation and emptying of outdoor manure storage facilities. In-barn monitoring was performed in gestation, farrowing, nursery, and grow-finish sections in the summer of 2001 and the winter of 2002 on four different farms. Plug pulling can generate very high concentrations of H2S. The maximum values recorded during some of the monitored events reached 1,000 ppm. The H2S released as a plug is being pulled does not follow a predictable pattern when considering the level that will be reached, the concentration variations during the event, and the time at which the peak concentration will be observed. Power washing generated lower H2S concentrations than plug pulling. However, as the task to be performed generally takes time, the 15 min time-weighed average of 15 ppm (STEL) can be reached after the task started and can be exceeded for a long period of time, which for some of the monitored events was more than 30 min. Finally, monitoring at the storage facilities showed that the risks of exposure to excessive H2S concentrations during the agitation and emptying of outside manure storage facilities were very limited. Results from this study suggest that pig production buildings involving short-term storage of liquid manure may present H2S exposure risks that have been underestimated until now. All workers should be provided with an H2S monitor and safety equipment to ensure that workers are protected when the H2S concentration rises. As well, engineering controls have to be developed to prevent H2S formation in the manure or H2S emission into the worker/pig space.