Dead Animal and Medical Waste Management

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Dead Animal and Medical Waste Management

• Dale W. Rozeboom
• Department of Animal Science
• Michigan State University
• Lyndon Kelley
• Regional Groundwater Agent
• MSU Extension

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Poultry Mortality in U.S.
North Carolina State University 1998
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Sheep Mortality in U.S.
A 100 ewe flock will dispose of 8 lambs and 2
ewes annually.
USDA APHIS 1994
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Horse Mortality in U.S.

• 3.5 to 4.0 of foals
• 1.5 young and adult horses

USDA APHIS 1996
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Dairy Mortality in U.S.

• 10.8 of heifer calves from birth to weaning
• 2.4 of heifers from weaning to first calf
• 3.8 of cows

A 300 cow dairy should expect to dispose of 33
calves, 7 heifers and 14 cows annually.
USDA APHIS 1996
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Beef mortality in U.S.

• 1.4 in feedlots (USDA APHIS 1999)
• Cow-calf
• Calves
• About 2 born dead
• About 1 pre-weaning
• Cows - 2.4 of breeding herd

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Swine Mortality in U.S.

• 10 - 15 of breeding herd
• 0.5 to 1.0 stillbirths
• 10 - 15 pre-weaning
• 2 nursery
• 2 growing/finishing

A typical 1,000 head swine finishing barn will
dispose of 52 hogs annually.
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Bodies of Dead AnimalsAct 239 of 1982

• An act to license and regulate animal food
  manufacturing, plants, transfer stations, dead
  animal dealers, rendering plants and certain
  vehicles to regulate the disposal of dead
  animals and to provide for poultry and livestock
  composting to prescribe powers and duties of
  certain state departments to impose fees to
  provide for remedies and to prescribe penalties
  and to repeal acts and parts of acts.

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Objective

• Protect human and animal health
• Reduce risk of disease transmission
• Control flies, vermin and scavenging animal
  problems
• Protect environment
• Ground and surface water
• Air quality

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Definition of livestock

• In addition to those just mentioned, the
  following are livestock too . . .
• New World Camelids
• Bison
• Captive Cervidae
• Ratities
• Aquaculture
• Rabbits

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What is necessary for the livestock producer?

• Compliance with Bodies of Dead Animals Act
• RTF Protection
• MAEAP
• CNMP
• Good management
• Sanitation
• Consistency
• Records
• Federal compliance
• Reasonable cost

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All dead animals . . .

• Normal or natural mortality
• Report increases in mortality to MDA Director
• Must be disposed of within 24 hours after death
  regardless of method
• Exceptions
• Secured temporary cold storage ? 40º F for
  maximum 7 days or ? 0º F for maximum 30 days
• Road kill
• Restaurant grease
• Specimens from educational institutions
• Mortality from Animal Control

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Must be disposed of within 24 hours after death
regardless of method
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Present alternatives and concerns with each . . .

• Burial - high water table, frozen ground
• Incineration - cost of fuel, odor nuisance, not
  after-birth
• Rendering - less accessibility, disease risk
• Land-fill long-term sustainability, disease
  risk
• Composting management, facility

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Burial

• All body parts at least 2 feet beneath the
  natural surface
• No contact with bodies of water
• 200 feet from wells

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Individual Grave

• Closed within 24 hours (2 feet beneath the
  natural surface)
• 100 graves/acre, maximum 5 tons/acre
• Separated by a minimum of 2.5 feet

21 x 21
5 tons/acre 100, 100lb animals or 10, 1,000
lb animals
 
 
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Common Grave

• Maximum 2.5 tons/acre
• Separated by minimum of 100 feet
• Covered with minimum of 1 foot of soil within 24
  hours
• Entire common grave cannot remain open for longer
  than 30 days
• Must have at least 2 feet of soil as final cover

4 grave sites per acre
105x 105
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Incineration

• Act 451, Part 55 sources of air pollution must
  be permitted by Air Quality Division of MI DEQ
• May be locally monitored as well
• Residue from incinerators
• Buried
• Land-applied at agronomic rates
• Licensed landfill

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Rendering

• Less service
• Animal owners reluctant to use animal
  by-product feedstuffs
• No longer collect animal tissues in some Michigan
  locations
• Large fees and economically unfavorable

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Land-fill

• Currently 23 landfills licensed to take dead
  animals in Michigan
• Technically, livestock producer is a business
• Must make arrangements to deliver
• Generally, there is no on-site pick-up
• Private or household animal tissue waste may
  be put into curb-side dumpsters (i.e. remains of
  one deer)
• Disease risk with driving into site
• Must avoid complaints

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Mortality Composting

• The biological decomposition of organic material
  under controlled conditions to a state where
  storage, handling and land application can be
  achieved without adversely affecting the
  environment.
• The effective destruction of body tissue using
  biological organisms
• Not recognizable aesthetically acceptable
• Incomplete decomposition

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Livestock carcasses

• Intrinsic to a operation under common ownership
  or management
• Consider specifications of law for transport
• May be left whole
• But splitting speeds composting process
• Poultry must be ground for that reason
• No mixing with poultry
• Disease testing is required for poultry annually
• hemorrhagic enteritis virus and salmonella

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Bulking Agent

• Sawdust
• Chopped Straw
• Spelt Hulls
• Bean Pods
• Grass Clippings
• Leaves
• Shredded Cardboard or Newspaper
• Chopped Cornstalks
• Finished Compost from secondary pile

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Mortality Composting procedures

• Primary pile
• Fill time depends on daily mortality rate
• Leave 2 to 8 months
• Depending on carcass size, season if new pile
• Turn into secondary pile, leave 2 months
• Final compost
• Piled until applied to land
• Reused as bulking agent (5050 with fresh)

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Design of compost piles
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Major microbe activity factors

• Carbon nitrogen ratio
• Moisture content
• Particle size or porosity
• Percent recycled compost
• Stirring frequency

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Carbon to nitrogen ratio

• Carcass 5
• Recycled secondary 30-50
• Sawdust 140

• Too low C/N
• NH3
• Other odors

• Too high C/N
• Low decomposition rate
• Low temperature

Target is 201 to 351 or about 10 lb
carcass/ft3
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Moisture

• Carcass 65
• Recycled Secondary 40-50
• Sawdust 20-50

• Too low moisture
• Low decomposition rate
• Low temperatures

• Too high moisture
• Putrid odors
• Flys

Target is 40 to 60
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Temperature

• Best indicator of microbial activity
• Achieve high rate of decompostion 110oF - 150oF
• Destruction of insects and weed seed 3 days gt
  131oF

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Mortality Composting structure

• 200 feet from surface water
• Distance from well - same as septic system (Act
  399 of 1976, and act 368 of 1978)
• Sized for production flow or expected daily
  mortality rate

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Example Mortality Composting Layout
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BDA Composting Questions and Answers

• Doesnt the compost pile stink?

• If the tissue is properly covered with 6 of
  fresh bulking agent (Bio Filter) and placed 6 or
  further from sides of pile, odors are suppressed.
  
• Smell is musty, earthy, wet leaves
• Color is dark brown
• Texture similar to bulking agent

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BDA Composting Questions and Answers

• If bone fragments are still present, can I land
  apply compost?

Following adequate primary and secondary
composting recognizable bones may still be
present. If they break under little pressure,
they can be spread. If not, further composting
is needed.
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BDA Composting Questions and Answers

• Is there a risk of spreading animal disease?

• Viability depends on
• Temperature as heat inactivates most bacteria and
  viruses
• Physical environment
• Most need a living animal as a host
• Too little moisture
• Organic acids (pH)
• Competition with other microbes

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BDA Composting Questions and Answers
What are the costs?

• Estimated cost 30 to 35 per square foot
• Existing facilities
• Salvage materials

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BDA Composting Questions and Answers

• Can I sell finished compost materials?

Yes in Michigan. Check with other state and/or
local authorities because standards and
regulations vary across the different states.
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BDA Composting Questions and Answers

• What else must an owner or operator do?

• Keep Records for minimum of first 2 years
• Start date of each new pile
• Quantity of tissue
• Temperature 2xs per week
• Turning dates
• Final disposition (method, location,
• date, estimated volume/wt, sale)

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Example record
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BDA Composting Questions and Answers

• What else must an owner or operator do?

Nutrient analysis one pile per year
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BDA Composting Questions and Answers

• What are other suggested bio-security measures?
  

• Rodent, wildlife and insect control
• Cleaning after animals are removed
• Disinfect equipment vehicles
• Restrict visitors

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Future of BDA Composting
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Veterinary Wastes

• Michigans Medical Waste regulatory Act, Part 138
  of 1978 PA 368 (1990)
• If vet visit then vet must dispose
• If farm (also household, home for aged, or home
  health care agency) then in garbage
• Sharps - hard plastic bottle with screw-on top
• Needles, syringes, scalpels, lancets
• Label Medical Waste or Sharps Container and
  Not For Recycling
• Bandages plastic bags
• Label (as above)

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