Reducing dust in a caged layer room: An electrostatic space charge system

Dust has been shown to be an important mechanism for airborne transmission of disease-causing agents. Although there are a variety of treatments that can reduce airborne dust, most of them are not practical in areas such as c aged layer rooms where dust levels can be relatively high. in this study, a n electrostatic space charge system was shown to be very effective on both artificial and naturally generated dust in a caged layer room. Duplicated t rials of the system showed a reduction in average concentration of artifici ally generated dust ranging from 72 to 91% by ionizer treatment - depending on the initial concentration. The treatment reduced concentration of natur ally generated dust fron mature White Leghorn chickens in cages by an avera ge of 52%. These results shoe that use of an electrostatic space charge sys tem can significantly reduce duct in caged layer areas, resulting in a lowe r potential for respiratory problems of workers as well as chickens in thes e areas.