In Lombardy, air pollution increases by 25% due to intensive farming

New research has shed light on the role played by intensive farming in determining the terrible air quality in Lombardy.The study, published on Environmental Impact Assessment, specifies that cattle and pig breeding could increase even further 25% local air pollution.According to the results of the analysis, in particular, an increase of 1000 livestock units, corresponding respectively to 1% and 0.3% of the average population of cattle and pigs in a given area unit, causes a corresponding daily increase in concentrations of ammonia and PM10 fine particles.The increase resulted more marked in the case of cattle breeding, that is, +0.26 micrograms per cubic meter (μg/m3) for ammonia and +0.29 μg/m3 for PM10, compared to +0.01 and +0.04 μg/m3 recorded for pigs .A particularly important fact, especially if looked at in the current context of policies to combat polluting emissions.For example, it is even more paradoxical that the European Union, under pressure from Italy and other conservative countries, approved the new directive for the reduction of polluting emissions by keeping intensive cattle farming out.

It has long been known that livestock farming contributes significantly to concentrations of air pollutants dangerous to health, however, public opinion still finds it difficult to shame the sector.Breeding and agriculture, especially through the management of animal waste and the use of fertilizers, are responsible for copious emissions of ammonia, a substance that acts as a precursor to the most serious air pollution from fine particles.We are talking about the so-called particulate matter, fine (PM10) or ultra-fine (PM2.5), which in Italy he is responsible Of over 50 thousand premature deaths per year.The worst data, as is now known, is recorded precisely in the Po Valley.«Its record levels of particulate matter, especially in winter – explained Jacopo Lunghi, first author of the research – make it one of the most polluted areas in Europe.Investigating the sources of this unhealthy air is critical to reducing pollution and increasing the well-being of individuals through effective political action."So far, they have mostly found themselves in the political crosshairs the energy and transport sectors which, in any case, represent undoubted and copious sources of air pollutants.«A lot is being done to mitigate emissions from the energy and transport sectors and, to some extent, also from the residential sector.Agriculture, and more specifically the livestock sector – however, specified researcher Lara Aleluia Reis – cannot be left aside and must be included in more severe policies to mitigate air pollution".

Overall, the study provided an unprecedented assessment of the impact of the livestock sector on ammonia and particulate concentrations, fundamental for guiding the choice of more coherent and effective policies in one of the most critical areas in terms of air pollution.Lombardy is in fact a region particularly subject to environmental and health threats due to its dense population, low wind conditions and intense agricultural activity.Considering that it is not possible to act by changing the number of inhabitants or the orographic conditions, it is important to aim for a reduction in polluting concentrations by minimizing the effects of anthropic activities, including zootechnical ones.In the latter case, to try to reduce the impact, the authors of the study suggest adopting an integrated management of agricultural activities, which provides for a higher quality of food for the animals, a more efficient disposal of sewage, manure and the entire production system and, above all, a reduction in the intensity of farming.

[by Simone Valeri]