Department of Health and Human Services
The Public Health Impact of
Intensive Livestock Operations (ILOs)
Over the last 20 years or so, the production of pork and poultry in North Carolina has changed from family farm operations to industrial-style production of livestock. The state's hog population has increased from around two million in 1989 to nearly 10 million in 2009.
Hogs and poultry are grown mainly in confinement buildings, each holding several hundred animals. Liquid waste from hog confinement buildings is stored in multi-acre lagoons and is applied to crops as a means of disposal. Poultry waste is usually applied in dry form to land. The high volume of nitrogen-containing waste produced at these facilities has resulted in the release of nitrates into nearby groundwater and surface water. In addition, the confinement buildings, lagoons and waste-application fields are potential sources of odors for nearby residents.
The N.C. Division of Public Health is concerned with public health issues related to ILOs in the following areas:
- Health effects from exposure to odors and other air contaminants from hog farm operations
- Contamination of private drinking well water by nitrates
- Health and quality of life among people living near ILOs
- Public Health and the health impact of animal agricultural waste
The Medical Evaluation & Risk Assessment staff of the Occupational & Environmental Epidemiology Branch handle ILO issues in the N.C. Division of Public Health.
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