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JoAnn Burkholder,¹ Bob Libra,² Peter Weyer,³ Susan Heathcote,⁴ Dana Kolpin,⁵ Peter S. Thorne,³ and Michael Wichman⁶

¹North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; ²Iowa Geological Survey, Iowa City, Iowa, USA; ³The University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, USA; ⁴Iowa Environmental Council, Des Moines, Iowa, USA; ⁵Toxic Substances Hydrology Program, U.S. Geological Survey, Iowa City, Iowa, USA; ⁶University Hygienic Laboratory, Iowa City, Iowa, USA

Abstract
Waste from agricultural livestock operations has been a long-standing concern with respect to contamination of water resources, particularly in terms of nutrient pollution. However, the recent growth of concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) presents a greater risk to water quality because of both the increased volume of waste and to contaminants that may be present (e.g., antibiotics and other veterinary drugs) that may have both environmental and public health importance. Based on available data, generally accepted livestock waste management practices do not adequately or effectively protect water resources from contamination with excessive nutrients, microbial pathogens, and pharmaceuticals present in the waste. Impacts on surface water sources and wildlife have been documented in many agricultural areas in the United States. Potential impacts on human and environmental health from long-term inadvertent exposure to water contaminated with pharmaceuticals and other compounds are a growing public concern. This workgroup, which is part of the Conference on Environmental Health Impacts of Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations: Anticipating Hazards—Searching for Solutions, identified needs for rigorous ecosystem monitoring in the vicinity of CAFOs and for improved characterization of major toxicants affecting the environment and human health. Last, there is a need to promote and enforce best practices to minimize inputs of nutrients and toxicants from CAFOs into freshwater and marine ecosystems. Key words: ecology, human health, poultry, swine, water contaminants, wildlife. Environ Health Perspect 115:308–312 (2007) . doi:10.1289/ehp.8839 available via http://dx.doi.org/ [Online 14 November 2006]

This article is part of the mini-monograph "Environmental Health Impacts of Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations: Anticipating Hazards—Searching for Solutions."

Address correspondence to P.S. Thorne, College of Public Health, 100 Oakdale Campus, The University of Iowa, 176 IREH, Iowa City, IA 52242 USA. Telephone: (319) 335-4216. Fax: (319) 335-4225. E-mail: peter-thorne@uiowa.edu

This workshop was supported by grant no. P30 ES05605-14S from the Environmental Health Sciences Research Center at The University of Iowa and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.

The authors declare they have no competing financial interests.

Received 10 November 2005 ; accepted 13 November 2006.