Dust concentrations in the animal husbandry sector have been an issue for many years, due to health and safety concerns for workers and from the perspective of animal health among other reasons. During the course of their work, livestock farmers, particularly poultry and pig producers, are exposed to dust concentrations that can be up to 300 times higher than in the outside air. Studies into the effects of exposure to such high concentrations of dust on the general health have revealed that those employed in the pig or poultry sector clearly suffer from a higher incidence of respiratory related problems than other sections of the working population. When dust is emitted into the environment along with the air extracted from animal housing, public health is placed at risk.

Inter Continental, in collaboration with Baumgartner Inc. in the USA and Wageningen UR Livestock Research, has developed two techniques designed to reduce fine dust:

1. Ionisation; IC-ionIC

Inter Continental, in cooperation with Baumgartner Environics Inc. and WUR Wageningen, has developed the IC-ionIC system to reduce fine dust in the air. The system causes the negative ions in the house air to collide with the many particles of dust present in the atmosphere. This negatively charges the dust particles so that they are attracted and collected by positively charged and earthed surfaces such as ceilings and walls or the specially mounted collector panels.

2. Oil film technique; IC-oilIC

The IC-oilIC system was also developed by Inter Continental in collaboration with Wageningen UR. This system uses special nozzles to spray a film of oil into the room housing the animals. This vegetable-based oil causes the dust to stick to surfaces, and animal activity does not make the dust recirculate in the ambient air. Significantly, both IC-ionIC and IC-oilIC are not only exceptionally effective systems; they are also affordable solutions, with attractive purchase and running costs.