Iowa State University researchers are taking part of a nationwide study on air quality around livestock facilities.
ISU’s portion of the project involves monitoring a swine operation in central Iowa.
ISU Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering Professor Steve Hoff they’ll be sending daily information on their findings to the lead research institution, Purdue University. Purdue will then compile all the information from 14 monitoring sites in nine states and provide the data to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The EPA will use the study to establish science-based guidelines on livestock air emissions.
Hoff says the job of the research institutions is to simply gather data on levels of particulate matter and gases. He says the research should lead to improvements in reducing emissions, "but before you do that you really have to know where you start from – and that’s the purpose of this project – to get baseline emission data."
The entire study is expected to last two-and-a-half years and cost $14.6 million.