Extensively modern pig production practices degrade the air quality in pig buildings and thereby pose a health risk to the pigs and farm workers (Whyte, 1993; Pearson and Sharples, 1995). To address these environmental problems, the U.S. and Europe are imposing more stringent regulations on aerial contaminants both within and from pig houses (Wathes et al., 1998; Gay et al., 2003). Aerial contaminants generated in the pig buildings are classified into gases, particulates and airborne microorganisms (Wathes, 1994). Representative gaseous compounds in the pig building are ammonia and hydrogen sulfide which are generated by the pigs themselves or by decomposing manure and easily adsorbed onto airbourne dust particles derived from feedstuffs (Bottcher, 2001). If ammonia and hydrogen sulfide are adsorbed onto fine dust particles such as PM2:5, they pose seriously adverse health effects on both pigs and workers because they penetrate the respiratory system (Donham et al., 1986). These gases promote a deterioration of equipment in the pig buildings (Ni et al., 2000b), elicit serious complaints from neighbors if the odors are emitted outdoors (Ni et al., 2000a), and can potentially damage ecosystems by soil acidification, water eutrophication and global warming (Harssema et al., 1981; van Breemen et al., 1982; Buijsman and Erisman, 1988). For pigs, ammonia concentrations above 100 ppm have been shown to cause a decline in feed consumption and daily weight gain (Stombaugh et al., 1969) and concentrations in the range of 50275 ppm lowered the ability of the pigs to clear bacteria from their lungs (Curtis et al., 1977). Concentrations of hydrogen sulfide below 10 ppm have no adverse health effect on pig growth (Curtis et al., 1977), but concentrations of 502100 ppm, 10021000 ppm, and 1000 ppm cause chronic, subacute, and acute intoxication, respectively (Smith et al., 1979). The Korea Ministry of Environment restricts livestock facilities, including pig buildings, to maximum levels of 1 ppm for ammonia and 0.02 ppm for hydrogen sulfide, based on a mandate to lessen odor emissions (KME, 2004). Prior to devising abatement techniques to prevent these environmental and hygiene problems caused by ammonia and hydrogen sulfide emitted from pig buildings, it is essential to accurately determine their concentrations. To date, there is no such field data from pig buildings in Korea. Therefore, the aim of this study was to provide both pig producers and governmental regulators in Korea empirical information on the concentrations and emissions of ammonia and hydrogen sulfide in the different types of pig buildings, and to compare values from Korean pig buildings to those in other countries. Concentrations of ammonia and hydrogen sulfide in the pig buildings averaged 7.5 ppm and 286.5 ppb and ranged from 0.8 to 21.4 ppm and from 45.8 to 1235 ppb, respectively. The mean emissions of ammonia and hydrogen sulfide per pig (normalized to 75 kg liveweight) and area (m²) from pig buildings were 250.2 and 37.8 mg/h/pig and 336.3 and 50:9mg/h/m², respectively. Ammonia and hydrogen sulfide concentrations and emissions were higher in the pig buildings managed with deep-pit manure systems with slats and mechanical ventilation than in other housing types.

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