A systematic review of occupational exposure to hydrogen sulfide in livestock operations

Abstract

This systematic review summarizes the current state of knowledge in hydrogen sulfide (H2S) concentrations within intensive livestock operations. The review was undertaken to better understand H2S concentrations in intensive livestock operations, in relation to the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) limit reduction to a 1 ppm time-weighted average (TWA). Several online academic databases were searched using two conceptual groups of search terms: "livestock" and "hydrogen sulfide." Industry gray literature was additionally identified via targeted searches of online agriculture-specific Web sites. Title, abstract, and full-text screening were performed to select articles reporting H2S measurements made within livestock facilities. Forty-five articles were included in this review. The bulk (70%) of articles described swine operations, whereas the remaining represented poultry and dairy operations. Although 14% of the articles described task-based monitoring of H2S, the majority of articles (86%) involved only area monitoring. Weighted means from all three livestock types were below 1 ppm, although swine operations displayed a wider range of exposure (from 0 to 97 ppm). Despite most mean task-based exposures being close to 1 ppm, the peak concentrations measurements may be higher during power washing (97 ppm) and miscellaneous tasks (11.4 ppm). This review provides a novel overview of H2S levels in intensive livestock operations, including information on task-based measurements. The review highlights numerous influences that produce a wide variability of H2S levels in intensive livestock operations. The review also highlights the need for research focused on personal monitoring of daily worker exposures to hydrogen sulfide in intensive livestock operations.

Keywords: Hydrogen sulfide; intensive livestock units; occupational exposure limit.