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Dick Heederik,¹ Torben Sigsgaard,² Peter S. Thorne,³ Joel N. Kline,³ Rachel Avery,⁴ Jakob H. Bønløkke,² Elizabeth A. Chrischilles,³ James A. Dosman,⁵ Caroline Duchaine,⁶ Steven R. Kirkhorn,⁷ Katarina Kulhankova,³ and James A. Merchant³

¹University of Utrecht, Utrecht, the Netherlands; ²University of Aarhus, Aarhus, Denmark; ³The University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, USA; ⁴University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; ⁵University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada; ⁶Laval University, Québec City, Québec, Canada; ⁷National Farm Medicine Center, Marshfield, Wisconsin, USA

Abstract
Toxic gases, vapors, and particles are emitted from concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) into the general environment. These include ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, carbon dioxide, malodorous vapors, and particles contaminated with a wide range of microorganisms. Little is known about the health risks of exposure to these agents for people living in the surrounding areas. Malodor is one of the predominant concerns, and there is evidence that psychophysiologic changes may occur as a result of exposure to malodorous compounds. There is a paucity of data regarding community adverse health effects related to low-level gas and particulate emissions. Most information comes from studies among workers in CAFO installations. Research over the last decades has shown that microbial exposures, especially endotoxin exposure, are related to deleterious respiratory health effects, of which cross-shift lung function decline and accelerated decline over time are the most pronounced effects. Studies in naïve subjects and workers have shown respiratory inflammatory responses related to the microbial load. This working group, which was part of the Conference on Environmental Health Impacts of Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations: Anticipating Hazards—Searching for Solutions, concluded that there is a great need to evaluate health effects from exposures to the toxic gases, vapors, and particles emitted into the general environment by CAFOs. Research should focus not only on nuisance and odors but also on potential health effects from microbial exposures, concentrating on susceptible subgroups, especially asthmatic children and the elderly, since these exposures have been shown to be related to respiratory health effects among workers in CAFOs. Key words: air quality, asthma, biological agents, endotoxin, inflammation, odor, poultry, swine. Environ Health Perspect 115:298–302 (2007) . doi:10.1289/ehp.8835 available via http://dx.doi.org/ [Online 14 November 2006]

This article is part of the mini-monograph "Environmental Health Impacts of Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations: Anticipating Hazards—Searching for Solutions."

Address correspondence to P.S. Thorne, College of Public Health, The University of Iowa, 100 Oakdale Campus, 176 IREH, Iowa City, IA 52242-5000 USA. Telephone: (319) 335-4216. Fax: (319) 335-4006. E-mail: peter-thorne@uiowa.edu

This workshop was supported by grant P30 ES05605-14S from the Environmental Health Sciences Research Center at The University of Iowa and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.

The authors declare they have no competing financial interests.

Received 10 November 2005 ; accepted 13 November 2006.