Our university consultants have documented through research conducted over the past 7 years, the emergence of an i important new respiratory disease hazard to the agriculturalpopulation (1-7). Seventy to 90% of the estimated one half to one million workers in swine confinement structures experience respiratory symptoms (1-5), 55% experience bronchitis (6-7), and at least 14 workers have died suddenlyfrom acute respiratory distress and systemic toxicosis (2-4). The ultimate project goal is to prevent respiratory disease in swine confinement workers by improving the work environment through improved work practices, and the application of cost effective industrial hygiene and engineering controls. Funds from this sbir program will allow us to instrument a recently constructed confinement facility and to initiate studies on the relationship between controllable environmental factors and environmental concentrations of ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, methane, carbon dioxide, and aerosols. We will install environmental monitoring devices than evaluate the costs and environmental effects of the typed of ventilation system, the ventilation rate, production practices, and the physical and chemical makeup of the feed.these preliminary phase i studies anticipate a larger serious of studies that could result in the development of marketable environmental control technologies or principles that will economically improve the occupational health of a large and growing segment of the farming population.
