by Chris Clayton, DTN Ag Policy Editor
OMAHA (DTN) — Iowa is facing a crisis trying to destroy and dispose of roughly 23 million birds from poultry operations infected with highly pathogenic H5N2 avian influenza.
State and USDA officials are struggling to find landfills willing to accept the volume of carcasses that can come from giant poultry houses that normally hold hundreds of thousands or even millions of birds that are dying from the virus or are being euthanized.
In southwest Iowa, Mills County officials and residents are concerned about a plan to send as many as 3.5 million chicken carcasses to a private landfill in the county. Moreover, using the landfill outside of Malvern, Iowa, means transporting the chicken carcasses roughly 200 miles from the infected farm.
Highly pathogenic H5N2 avian influenza has been detected at 135 different locations around the country, including commercial turkey and chicken operations, backyard flocks and wild birds. USDA reports, as of May 7, that nearly 25.8 million birds have been infected or euthanized.
Iowa officials cite that the state now has 44 cases, leading to a rough total of about 23 million birds affected, just since April 20. Those figures include seven cases reported on Friday, totaling roughly 4 million birds.
Bob Glebs, CEO of Iowa Waste Systems, said he was on a call with about 28 people looking to write disposal standards. Glebs, who is based in Wisconsin, volunteered to work with Iowa Department of Natural Resources staff and draft a plan to safely dispose of the carcasses in one of the two landfills his company operates in southwest Iowa.
“They asked us if we would take them, and we told them that if needed, we could take them. We could handle them safely under those transport and disposal standards,” he said.
Glebs added that his company could help and do it safely to protect his employees and the surrounding community. He also noted that others are doing the same because officials project the virus could claim roughly 40 million birds before subsiding.
“We will help with the immediate problems, and if they overwhelm us, then we can only take a limited amount,” Glebs said. “We will do our part, then others are going to have to step up or you are still going to have the problem.”
A USDA spokesman said late Friday that no transports of carcasses have been approved at this point. Some Iowa farms are burying carcasses on-site.
Egg-laying operations, because of the structure of the barn, aren't set up to allow for composting the birds. Iowa and USDA officials are resisting allowing on-site burial for those northern Iowa layer operations because of the fear of contaminating shallow water tables in the region. Officials want to either incinerate the birds or bag the carcasses and take them to a landfill.
Circumstances are different in Minnesota, which has seen its turkey industry hit hard by the virus. Because of the setup of the barns, turkeys are euthanized in their barns and then composted in the barn, a process that can take about a month. Once the composting is done, the remaining materials can be taken outside and spread on fields. Other farms that chose not to compost are burying their carcasses on site, according to the Minnesota Board of Health.
COUNTY RESIDENTS EXPRESS CONCERN
After learning about the plan, Mills County, Iowa, residents took to social media to express their concern about the local landfill being used. Local county officials, state senators and representatives around Mills County were all on a conference call Thursday with Iowa Agriculture Secretary Bill Northey, who sought to reassure them that the disposed carcasses would not spread the virus.
“It's hard to feel completely comfortable with it, but he (Northey) seemed confident the risk was pretty low,” said Mark Costello, one of the Mills County's local state senators.
As transport of dead birds becomes an issue, other counties are trying to restrict travel. Dallas County, Iowa, officials are seeking to keep any transport of disposed birds away from any commercial operations in the area.
Glebs said he has 40 years in the waste-disposal business and has been involved in different committees or projects where waste-disposal standards were needed. Currently, Iowa Waste Systems just owns two landfills, both in southwest Iowa.
“My first question was, are my employees safe? Is the area going to be safe? If I've got to put a moon suit on, we're not taking it,” he said. “I'm not going to do that.”
Glebs said he has talked with chicken farms within about a 50-mile radius of the Malvern landfill. He and his local manager also met with Mills County supervisors and other local officials. Some farmers were still worried, though he pointed out to them that they too were still at risk of their farm contracting H5N2 in much the same way that other farms have been hit.
“If you get bird flu on your farm, what are you going to do with the birds?” Glebs said. He added that it's unlikely growers would get a USDA or state permit to bury the dead birds on the farm. “Somebody has to step up to help.”
ROTTING CHICKENS, BILLIONS OF FLIES
Gleb's partner in Iowa visited one of the earliest large Iowa layer operations that was infected. Millions of chickens are rotting in barns while the immediate vicinity is surrounded by potentially billions of flies. He speculated it might be quicker, cheaper and more efficient to basically incinerate the birds and the barns and then rebuild the barns rather than haul away the carcasses and try to clean the facilities.
“They said they can't do that, but if they put me in charge, it would already be done,” Glebs said.
Glebs put together a detailed plan of what it would take for Iowa Waste to accept the birds. He also added he shares the information with anyone who would like it. The plan requires putting carcasses in plastic bags and heating those bags up to 90 degrees Fahrenheit for three days. The bagged birds are then put into sealed containers. Once the carcasses are at the landfill, the dumped bags would be covered within 30 minutes by roughly 2 feet of soil or other garbage. No flu virus should exist anyway, but if it were present, the virus should be smothered.
“There should be no flu, according to USDA,” Glebs said. “But if there was, once it goes into an anaerobic environment, which our landfill is, and we will put it into 150 to 200 feet, basically any flu can't live in those anaerobic conditions.”
The trucks and equipment will be cleaned and decontaminated by Clean Harbors, the company contracted by USDA for cleanup and hauling.
Liability is still a concern. Glebs said he was worried about litigation if a nearby poultry farm becomes infected. He said USDA was working to have an official on site during disposal to ensure the work meets the agreed-upon standards. That would reduce the risk of a lawsuit.
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Image By jlastras [CC BY-SA 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons
