Nearly half the people surveyed in two southern Alberta communities link air quality related to livestock with human health concerns.
The survey released Oct. 4 is already tainted with controversy.
The Alberta Pork Producers and Alberta Cattle Feeders Association walked away from the committee last week over the report.
The two groups rejected the study as biased and unscientific. They said it did not address a broad range of issues that affect air quality, including oil and gas operations.
“It’s the process we objected to,” said Paul Hodgman, manager of industrial services for Alberta Pork.
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Initiated by a committee representing producers and local health authorities, the air quality issue related to intensive livestock operations has been under discussion for more than a year.
The Chinook and Palliser health regions conducted the study this summer in Picture Butte and Brooks, two of the province’s hot spots when it comes to the smell of manure.
Paul Hasselback, head of the Chinook Regional Health Authority in Lethbridge, said the survey questions were fair.
While livestock groups said public complaints were too few to warrant a study, Hasselback countered that many people do not complain officially when they feel nauseated or have respiratory problems related to air quality.
“We only hear a fraction of the complaints that are out there,” he said.
In 1997, 20 complaints were registered by the Lethbridge health office. That compares to seven received in 1998, and one in 1999.
Statistics from all regional health authorities said air quality complaints are few and have dropped steadily since 1997.
Last year only two complaints were received. The livestock groups said they questioned the justification for a study based on a handful of complaints.
Pork and cattle producers were further angered when health authorities announced they were doing the survey on their own.
“It’s very much a perception survey. The results are leading at best,” said Hodgman.
About 230 people were contacted by telephone in Picture Butte and Brooks in July. About 43 percent said air quality resulted in health problems and nearly 20 percent said they believed poor air quality affected their health.
Health problems included asthma, other respiratory conditions, headaches, nausea and upset stomachs.
