Three engineering control measures were developed and tested for effectiveness in protecting swine barn workers from exposure to hydrogen sulfide (H2S) gas during manure handling events. A remote manure pit plug pulling system allowed the worker to pull the manure pit plug from outside the room. A water sprinkling apparatus was also devised, which resulted in 79% reduction of H2S gas concentration under optimal laboratory conditions. A manure scraper system was installed to remove manure daily from the manure pit of a grower-finisher room. Preliminary measurements showed that H2S levels were 80 to 96% lower in the scraper room than in a similar room with a conventional pull-plug system.
Engineering Controls Reduce Hydrogen Sulphide Exposure in Swine Barns (view pdf)
