Factors affecting the release and concentration of dust in pig houses

Dust in pig confinement buildings may create negative health effects on humans as well as on the animals. Measures to reduce the dust concentration in the air are therefore urgent. The mass balance of dust as well as the efficiency of different dust-reducing measures have been investigated and analysed. The investigations have shown that the generation of dust is affected by activity, number of pigs and also by the weight of the pigs. Increased ventilation rate, electrostatic air cleaning and removal of dust by vacuum cleaners have had limited effect on the dust concentration. It has been observed that the type of ventilation technique but also the type of housing system influence the generation of dust. Spraying of small water droplets as well as an oil mixture have resulted in a significant reduction of the dust concentration. (C) 1999 Silsoe Research Institute.