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Large-scale factory farms have become the biggest source of water pollution in the U.S.

Large-scale factory farms have become the biggest source of water pollution in the U.S.

  • Mar 02, 2022

Large-scale factory farms have become the biggest source of water pollution in the U.S.

Source: https://uspirg.org/blogs/blog/usp/large-scale-factory-farms-have-become-biggest-source-water-pollution-us

Author:  Gina Goldenberg

The Environmental Protection Agency announced plans to monitor factory farm pollution back in 2005 - but it has yet to actually do so. When massive amounts of fertilizer, animal waste and other pollutants aren’t managed properly, they foul our waterways and release harmful chemicals like ammonia and methane into the environment. Extended exposure to these potent chemicals can result in serious health consequences such as asthma, bronchitis, pneumonia and other  respiratory diseases. These risks are why the EPA announced plans to monitor factory farm pollution almost 20 years ago. However, the agency has yet to release finalized plans to observe factory farm pollution and ultimately make decisions based off of the observations.