Bioaerosols and Particulate Matter In An Egg Production House and the Vicinity: Concentrations and Emissions.

Air emissions from animal feeding operation (AFO) facilities contain high level of particulate matter (PM) and bioaerosols. While AFO air quality related studies have been focusing on quantifying baseline emissions of gaseous and PM pollutants, limited information is available to link those emissions with ambient pollutant levels in the vicinity of the AFO facilities. In this study, concentrations of PM₁₀ or PM_2.5 and nonselective bacteria and fungi were simultaneously measured at an in-house station and four ambient stations on an egg production farm using the TEOM-PM monitors and Andersen six-stage viable samplers. Field sampling/monitoring data were used to develop PM and bioaerosol emission rates. A Gaussian-based dispersion model-AERMOD was used to link the emission rates with downwind concentrations for quantification of fate and transport of the emissions as impacted by meteorological conditions. Comparison of the concentrations of viable aerosols (bioaerosols) and non-viable ones (PM) was also conducted to better understand mechanism of bioaerosol fate and transport as impacted by PM emissions and concentrations.