Oil spraying as an air quality improvement technique in livestock buildings: development and utilisation of a testing device

Abstract

Air quality is known to affect the production efficacy, health and welfare of different livestock species, as well as the health of farm workers. It is therefore important to improve air quality in facilities housing livestock to reduce the incidence and severity of respiratory diseases, improve animal welfare, production efficiency and reduce the potential occupational health and safety risks arising from exposure of farm workers to airborne pollutants in livestock facilities. This paper outlines the development of test equipment that enabled the standardised testing of different oil application rates (to be applied in bedded livestock buildings) on the resulting levels of dust suppression. Specifically the development of the equipment enabled optimum stirring and rotational speeds to be determined to give consistent levels of dust generation within the test chamber. This allowed for different oil inclusion rates to be determined in the oil/water mixture to achieve optimal dust reduction rates. Results showed that increased amounts of oil water mixture resulted in a decrease of airborne dust particles from the bedding material. However, an economically optimum rate was also identified, when the diminishing return (in terms of dust reduction rate) on the amount of oil applied was also considered. The paper also reviewed some previous studies conducted in Australia aimed at fine-tuning and applying oil spraying in livestock buildings to suppress dust.