000222 Health Problems Found by Hog Farms

Chapel Hill, NC - People living near hog farms report more headaches, diarrhea and minor respiratory problems, according to a study by researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

The survey also found that people who lived within two miles of an industrial-style hog farm reported a reduced quality of life. Fewer residents enjoyed outdoor activities when compared to those who did not live near hog operations.

“I think that the survey provides enough evidence that we should consider the problem serious,” said Steven Wing, the UNC-Chapel Hill professor of epidemiology who led the study released Wednesday. “This tells us we need to look at this further.”

Preliminary results of the study, funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, were first reported last year. Final results will appear in March in the scientific journal “Environmental Health Perspectives.”

The researchers interviewed 155 people in three counties. One group lived within two miles of a 6,000-head hog operation; another lived near two adjacent cattle farms; and the third group, a control, lived in a farming area without large livestock operations.

Residents were asked how many times they experienced a range of health problems, and about quality of life issues.

Researchers found the greatest differences in quality of life, but also found a higher incidence of some health problems reported by those who lived near the hog farm.

Hog industry officials said the study is pseudo-science.

“It's just junk science. I do know that you can skew these so-called studies to get the results you want,” said Walter Cherry, director of the N.C. Pork Council. “From a tax standpoint, that money was wasted if your trying to prove something. Now if your trying to pursue an agenda, maybe it wasn't wasted.”

Cherry said the survey questions, coupled with the fact that the hog farm in the study had been the target of organized protests from residents, made it clear the kind of responses that researchers wanted. A valid study would have relied on medical examinations for hard evidence to back up the conclusions, he said.

Wing said some of the respondents may have known the survey concerned the effects of hog farms, but said no mention was made of hogs, livestock or odors.

He agreed that some people may have reported more symptoms because of their negative feelings about hog farms.

But researchers found no difference between some types of health symptoms -- such as sore muscles and joints, blurred vision, or hearing problems -- among those who lived near hog farms and among those who did not.

That finding, Wing said, suggests the greater incidence of health problems reported by people who lived near hog farms -- sore throats, coughing, burning eyes, headache and diarrhea -- were not imagined.

Researchers did not have enough money to do physical exams and trace long-term health effects, he said.

“This study has a number of limitations which we discuss pretty openly,” Wing said. “We need more research. But I am aware of people who live around these operations who feel there is enough evidence here already.”

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