Attempts at aerosol control in a turkey rearing confinement with negative air ionization.

Abstract

Aerosol control is a significant problem in agriculture and industry. Two separate studies were conducted to determine the effectiveness of a "negative air ionization" system in aerosol control. The first study was conducted with a turkey "brooder" barn and a control for a six-week period. The second study was conducted with a turkey "grow-out" barn and a control for a twelve-week period. Sampling parameters for both studies included environmental aerosol sampling, ion imbalance measurements, relative humidity, temperature and barometric pressure measurements and daily turkey mortality. Study two also included post study bird weights. Results of sampling parameters were consistent between study one and study two. No significant difference was found between test and control total average aerosol concentration for both studies. Ion imbalance measurements served to indicate that test environments were negatively ionized while control environments experienced normal environmental conditions. Meteorological parameters did not significantly affect aerosol concentrations. Normal variations in bird mortality were observed in the first study, but death rates increased with ionization in the latter. Overall, it was determined that the "negative air ionization" could not be considered as an effective means of aerosol control in turkey rearing confinements.