What pollutants might be found in untreated wastewater from a chicken farm or a poultry-processing plant? (interesting)

 Poultry plants today are quite dangerous to the environment. Millions of chickens or other animals are kept together in a small space allowing bacteria and viruses to grow. Having so many animals comes at a cost: gallons and gallons of manure can no longer be used for crops because there is too much manure. In 2017, a Brazilian-owned poultry processing plant had 37 water pollution violations, including a spill of 29 million gallons of hog waste which killed thousands of fish. The biggest processing plant produces more manure than the four largest cities in America. Manure isn’t the only problem. Plants release over 5.3 million gallons of polluted water each day. This water is used to wash carcasses, rinse the meat, remove feathers, and also clean and sanitize the facility and equipment. In addition to the water, pathogens, oxygen-eating suspended chemicals like nitrogen and phosphorus, ammonia, oil and grease, blood, feces, and others like sulfates and chloride contaminate the water. High concentrations of these pollutants lead to excess algae growth which creates dead zones in water; bacteria-filled waterways, and suffocates fish because of lack of oxygen.. In 2017, an average of 331 pounds of nitrogen was discharged by slaughterhouses per day. Most meat processing plants dispose of their wastewater in streams, rivers, and lakes so that municipal treatment plants have to deal with the pollutants. Plants also spray the water on pastures where it infiltrates groundwater and surface waters. From January 2016 to June 2018, 12 meat processing plants have had at least 1 case of E. coli and enterococcus because they didn’t address their issue with pathogens and bacteria.

Blue, M. (2019, March 02). Ecological impact of chicken farming. Retrieved May 28, 2021, from https://sciencing.com/ecological-impact-chicken-farming-5005.html

Chicken waste and water pollution. (2021, February 24). Retrieved May 28, 2021, from https://www.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/envh10.sci.life.eco.chickenwaste/chicken-waste-and-water-pollution/

E. (2018, October 11). Water Pollution from Slaughterhouses. Retrieved May 28, 2021, from https://www.environmentalintegrity.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Slaughterhouse_Report_Final.pdf