ISSUE 27: Are unpleasant odors always associated with harmful health effects ?
RESPONSE: NO. There is a difference between an odor which is considered a nuisance because an individual doesnt think it smells good, and gases, dusts or other compounds which, when inhaled in sufficient quantities, may have health effects. Sometimes the perception of odors can lead to a health effect such as nausea. Under extreme situations such as an enclosed tank where manure has been stored or is being agitated, hydrogen sulfide can be released from the stored manure into the air space near the inside top of the tank in lethal concentrations. In outdoor unconfined spaces such as the edge of a lagoon or the property boundary, this same compound is diluted in air such that it may no longer be a health concern but may present an occasional nuisance. Dusts and other compounds when inhaled by workers spending several hours each day inside hog houses may present chronic health effects, but when exhausted outdoors and diluted by air may be only an occasional unpleasant odor.
