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Hydrogen sulfide emissions from Excel Dairy a public health hazard


July 28, 2009  by Business Wire

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WEB EXCLUSIVE

Hydrogen sulfide emissions from Excel Dairy a public health hazard
For families living near Excel Dairy, just north of Thief River Falls, Minnesota, this past year has been challenging.

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July 28, 2009, St. Louis – For families living near Excel Dairy, just north of Thief River Falls, Minnesota, this past year has been challenging. Manure pits that hold the waste of the dairy’s cows have produced foul-smelling hydrogen sulfide. Some families have been forced to temporarily evacuate their homes due to the emissions. Last September, state officials declared the dairy to be a public health hazard after it violated air quality standards.

“Residents who are exposed to the rotten-egg smell of hydrogen sulfide gas must often stay indoors with the windows shut unable to use and enjoy their home,” notes Todd Hageman, an attorney with The Simon Law Firm. “For some families living near Excel Dairy, the air quality has been so bad that even remaining in a confined home is not enough to escape the stench and they have been forced to leave.”

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Earlier this month, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency ordered the dairy to empty two manure basins. It was the latest in a string of orders from the agency aimed at improving air quality.

The difficulties some the residents have encountered as a result of the hydrogen sulfide emissions have even been the subject of a YouTube video series. At low levels, hydrogen sulfide is a nuisance. At high levels, it is linked to health complications such as eye and skin irritation, headaches, delirium and respiratory problems.

The Simon Law Firm is a St. Louis-based firm that represents people who have lost the use and enjoyment of their property or been hurt by environmental and landfill hazards. The firm represents residents across the country plagued by hydrogen sulfide landfill odours.

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