Florence fallout threatens to dump waste stored in dozens of North Carolina pork lagoons | Smart News

The nearly 10 million pigs housed in hog farms in North Carolina produce about 10 billion gallons of manure per year and, as Sarah Sax notes, Vice Newsmuch of this waste ends up in the more than 3,300 "pig lagoons" in the state. VoxUmair Irfan, the beaten earth anaerobic The pits are about eight feet deep and are filled with bacteria that turn faeces into fertilizer. When they work properly, lagoons are an essential remedy to the pork waste issue. But with rising water levels threatening to exceed their 19-inch absorption limit, open pits could pose a significant threat to the environment and health. And Hurricane Florence has just delivered 50 inches of rain in some areas.

At noon Wednesday, North Carolina Department of Quality of the Environment had identified 21 flooded lagoons actively releasing urine and pork fecal matter into the environment and 89 others at imminent risk of rejecting waste due to structural damage or an overflow of water. 39; water. Kendra Pierre-Louis writes that these numbers were up from 34 lagoons cited as being at risk. The New York Times.

"You basically have a toxic soup for people who live near these lagoons," said Sacoby Wilson, a public health specialist at the University of Maryland. Vice News. "All contaminants in pig lagoons, such as salmonella, giardias and E. coli, can enter streams and infect people trying to escape."

according to The New York Times & # 39; Pierre-Louise, the excess nitrates generated by mixing slurry and groundwater can contribute to the blue baby syndrome, which limits the oxygen supply of the infant and gives his skin a bluish tint. Experts are also worried that Florence will produce damage similar to that caused by Hurricane Floyd in 1999, which has contaminated North Carolina waterways, drowned animals and produced harmful substances. the proliferation of algae.

VoxIrfan notes that some environmental activists cite Floyd in their criticisms of the state's preparation in Florence.

"North Carolina experiences hurricanes and floods every year," says Michelle Nowlin, a law expert at Duke University. Vice News. "I doubt the wisdom of having an elimination method that is so vulnerable to the types of weather events we have in this region, with potentially catastrophic effects."

The North Carolina Hog Council (CNPC), however, argues that in the years that followed Floyd, the hog industry took "significant steps" to minimize the threat of flooding and even close 334 lagoons in lowland areas. flood. September 17th advisoryCNPC noted that Hurricane Matthew in 2016 affected more than 99.5% of the state's active lagoons and, on September 19, declaration"We are appalled by the release of some liquids from some lagoons, but we also understand that what was released from the farms is the result of a single storm and that their contents are very high." diluted with rainwater.

According to the same statement, local farmers mitigate the risk of overflow by transferring liquids from risk lagoons to tankers or lagoons with "sufficient capacity".

The majority of the 2,100 hog farms in North Carolina are located in the southern counties of Sampson and Duplin, heavily impacted by torrential rains in Florence and, according to Vox's Irfan, among the poorest in the state. .

Pierre-Louis reports that local people have long protested against large-scale swine production in the region, which they say is detrimental to their health and well-being. A newly published Duke University study in the Medical Journal of North Carolina supports these claims, noting that people living near concentrated feeding operations (CAFOs) have higher mortality rates from different causes than people living further away from hog farms.

"Life expectancy in North Carolina communities, near hog CAFOs, remains low, even after adjustment for socioeconomic factors known to affect people's health and life span," said lead author H. Kim Lyerly. declaration.

The authors are quick to point out that their research does not establish a definitive link between a lower life expectancy and the presence of hog farms, but they argue that further assessment of health risks should be made.

As lead author Julia Kravchenko concludes, "there may be a need to address the health problems of communities in North Carolina adjacent to CAFOs by improving access to medical resources, including screening and early diagnosis." , and interventions. "

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