Measurement and analysis of dust spatial distribution in a mechanically ventilated pig building

Dust has been implicated as a major contributor to the increased incidence of respiratory disorders among pig workers. Unlike gaseous contaminants, dust is not uniformly distributed within pig buildings. Dust spatial distribution is an important variable in the understanding of dust transportation and the implementation of appropriate control strategies. There is a lack of data on dust spatial distribution in livestock confinement buildings because of a lack of adequate sampling techniques. In this project, a multi-point sampler was used to measure the dust spatial distribution in a mechanically ventilated pig building. Experimental results show that there was a high variation in the dust spatial distribution within the mechanically ventilated pig building. Ventilation rate and diurnal change of weather affect the dust spatial distribution. It was shown that dust source control such as oil sprinkling at regular frequencies was an effective measure to control the dust levels. Room air cleaning such as dedusters can be used to reduce dust concentration and change dust spatial distribution.