Day 090 - 16 Feb 95 - Page 50


     
     1        hours.
     2
     3   Q.   The problems with wet environment/index.html">litter, do they also affect the
     4        amount of ammonia that is produced?
     5        A.  The wet environment/index.html">litter will prevent the correct microbial
     6        fermentation going on in the environment/index.html">litter, so it will tend to
     7        trap ammonia.
     8
     9   Q.   So there would be less ammonia given off?
    10        A.  There would be less ammonia perhaps given off from the
    11        environment/index.html">litter, but on the other hand if the cap is disturbed then
    12        the cap tends to trap ammonia, so that is really ----
    13
    14   Q.   So it would be more concentrated?
    15        A.  Yes, and that is undesirable.
    16
    17   Q.   Is there an acceptable level of ammonia in the broiler
    18        house?
    19        A.  Yes, there is.  The aim is to have less than five parts
    20        per million of ammonia in the atmosphere.  At 20 parts per
    21        million the smell is distinctly unpleasant, and at 50 parts
    22        per million it can actually start doing damage to the
    23        respiratory tract of the birds and is obviously highly
    24        undesirable.
    25
    26   Q.   What level of ammonia is generally found at Sun Valley?
    27        A.  Well, it is not something that we routinely measure,
    28        because you normally use your sense of smell to detect
    29        ammonia.  The aim is to have five parts per million or
    30        less, but I cannot say that we honestly measure it as such.
    31
    32   Q.   Did the ammonia levels used to be greater?
    33        A.  No, I do not think so.  I think it is something that
    34        has not significantly changed.
    35
    36   Q.   How does five parts per million compare with smelling
    37        salts?
    38        A.  Smelling salts, Epsom salts, I mean five parts per
    39        million is just about detectable by the human nose.  As far
    40        as I remember, smelling salts are pretty strong.  It is not
    41        the same compound anyway, so I am not really sure you can
    42        compare them.
    43
    44   Q.   Yesterday you said that the sheds were cleaned between each
    45        flock, they were left five days clear between each flock
    46        and 10 days for the whole farm.
    47        A.  That is correct.
    48
    49   Q.   I was not quite sure, well, can you explain that?
    50        A.  The five-day empty period applies to a house, an 
    51        individual unit.  The 10 days applies to the whole farm 
    52        which might be a collection of units. 
    53
    54   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Yes, that slightly puzzled me.  How do you
    55        achieve that?  You may have a series of units all coming on
    56        or going off song, as it were.  How do you manage to get 10
    57        days when the whole farm is quiet?
    58        A.  What we do is -- maybe I did not say that the right
    59        way, I did not say that the right way round, did I? What
    60        I should have said is 10 days per unit and five days per

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