IT'S NOT JUST THE STENCH

"Hog-farm-cesspool gases tied to nerve damage," blares this NY Times story (reprinted in the Charlotte Observer), explaining that toxic ammonia, hydrogen sulfide routinely escape from the lagoons holding the excess of animal feces and urine produced by factory farming. "22 times in April, the gases exceeded the state's recommended air standards of 15 parts per billion of hydrogen sulfide," the Times notes, adding that levels got higher than four times the cutoff point for dangerous emissions of this gas as well as 150 parts per billion of ammonia. This is "a level that would have exceeded the air standards for at least six other states." Good point. Everybody in other states arguing with county boards about large hog farms, please take note: NERVE DAMAGE, fer chrissakes.