Local hog farms produce offensive fumes

Sarah Hart Landolt Contributing writer

Manure stinks. But it shouldn't stink as much as it does on western Kentucky's hog farms. On Aug. 25 the Sierra Club, a national environmental group, teamed with local residents to conduct the Tour de Stench through Marshall, Fulton and Hickman counties. The event raised awareness on odors and pollution from the hog farms and gave a voice to people who are affected by the stench. "You wouldn't smell (the stench) until the wind blew your way, but once it did, it hit you like a brick wall," Eden Davis, graduate student from Benton, Ky., said. "It made me want to vomit." About 38 hog-concentrated animal feeding operations are l in western Kentucky, including two in Calloway County, which are located 15 miles from Murray State. Each barn houses about 2,500 hogs. Dianna Riddick, a Sierra Club member and attorney in Marshall County, said underneath the pigs is a 1 million gallon waste bucket that is emptied once a year. Hogs produce excrement three times more than a human. Yet, there is no sewer system built to handle that much extra fecal matter. Riddick said when the bucket is full after a year, the waste is sold and sprayed onto nearby fields for crop fertilization. The stench is so strong it can travel up to three miles. "While fences may make good neighbors, they cannot contain stench." Riddick said. "The problem is there is no fence for smell. So, the property is devalued." Not only do these hog farms violate property rights, they also violate the simple freedoms and pleasures of a home owner. Unable to even go outside, grill out or lounge on the deck, these residents are forced to stay inside when the wind blows their way, Riddick said. Pollution is a strong concern for the Sierra Club. The hog farms are all in river counties, surrounded by the Ohio, Mississippi, Tennessee and Cumberland rivers. After a rain storm, the waste that is sprayed onto the fields can trickle down into the rivers, Riddick said. Riddick said in addition, other forces of nature, such as flooding or earthquakes, could cause a major spillage from the waste container which could threaten the water supply. The powerful fumes from the excrement require the barns to provide giant fans, so the hogs will not die from fumigation themselves. In fact, the gases are so deadly that if a person fell in the waste container, it would result in death, Riddick said. The reason the waste is highly toxic is because of the concentration of hogs for efficient production. Because of the high concentration, disease is likely to spread. Hence, antibiotics are used, according to an article in "Rolling Stone" magazine. According to "Rolling Stone," in the states of Iowa, Virginia and North Carolina, disasters have occurred with America's largest pork producer, Smithfield. The article ?said in 1997 in Virginia, the company was fined $12.6 million for nearly 7,000 violations of the Clean Water Act. That is the largest settlement in Environmental Protection Agency history. The people on the Tour de Stench are fighting to prevent the same from happening in river counties. If nothing else, it certainly makes one rethink dinner choices. Said Davis: "It made me not want to eat pork again." Sarah Hart Landot can be reached at sarah.landolt@ murraystate.edu.