What's going on?

What was done?

What was found?

What it means

Reference

What is community driven research?

Environmental Issues (Adolescent Asthma Symptoms and Industrial Hog Facilities)

Lead Investigator: Maria Mirabelli, PhD

What's going on?

In recent years, industrial hog facilities have replaced small, family-owned hog farms.  Each facility houses hundreds to thousands of hogs in a limited area.  Hog facilities flush animal waste from confinement houses into cesspools.  Once the waste starts to decompose, it is sprayed onto nearby land as fertilizer.  This can pollute the air, water, and land around the hog facility.

Research shows that neighbors of hog facilities report more breathing problems than other rural  residents.  Most studies focus on the effects of hog facilities on adults.  Industrial hog facilities may affect children in different ways.