Effects of pharmaceuticals on microbial communities in hog lagoons (2013)
Undergraduates: Elizabeth Sebastian, Eric Staunton
Faculty Advisor: Michael Aitken
Department: Health Environmental Sciences & Engineering
Hog waste management is presently managed using a open air lagoon system. The practice of keeping hog waste in open air pits, and spraying fields with it once they are full presents serious threats to the environment and human health. Presently, the use of microbes for nutrient removal and methane capture are being explored as a method to better waste management practices. The aim of this research was to determine whether microbes used for nitrogen removal (using anaerobic ammonium oxidizing (anammox) microbes and nitrifying microbes) and methane capture (methanogens) would be negatively impacted by the presence of chemicals used to treat sick hogs. Based on information gathered from the field site, Butler farms, the impacts of caffeine and aspirin were tested. This was done by spiking microcosms with caffeine and aspirin, at concentrations similar to those calculated for the lagoon, and monitoring microbial activity. Based on the results from these experiments, there was no effect of the pharmaceuticals on microbial activity, for anammox, nitrifying and methanogenic microbes.