Corn Production is a Major Contributor to Air Pollution: Study

New study finds that growing corn accounts for 4,300 premature deaths related to air pollution every year in the United States.

Farmer's way of producing corn could be killing thousands of Americans, reports a new study. The study has estimated for the first time the health damages caused by corn production. Ammonia from fertilizer application was by far the greatest contributor to corn's air pollution footprint. The findings of the study are published in the journal Nature Sustainability.

A new study establishes that environmental damage caused by corn production results in 4,300 premature deaths annually in the United States, representing a monetized cost of $39 billion.

Air Pollution - Pollutants - Health Effect - Efforts to Reduce
Nearly 2.4 million deaths every year are attributable to air pollution. Air pollutants may be solid particles, liquid droplets or gases. Proper planning methods should be adopted to reduce air pollution.

‘Corn production accounts for thousands of premature deaths related to air pollution each year in the United States. A new study suggests strategic interventions in maize production, including replacing the fertilizer type and application technique, improving nitrogen use efficiency, and shifting to crops requiring less fertilizer.’
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Corn is a key agricultural crop used for animal feed, ethanol biofuel, and human consumption.

The paper presents how researchers have estimated for the first time the health damages caused by corn production using detailed information on pollution emissions, pollution transport by wind, and human exposure to increased air pollution levels.

The study also shows how the damage to human health of producing a bushel of corn differs from region to region and how, in some areas, the health damages of corn production are greater than its market price.

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"The deaths caused per bushel in western corn belt states such as Minnesota, Iowa, and Nebraska tend to be lower than in eastern corn belt states such as Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio," said lead researcher Jason Hill, associate professor at the University of Minnesota College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences.

Researchers, including UMN professors Stephen Polasky, applied economics; Timothy Smith, bioproducts and biosystems engineering; David Tilman, College of Biological Sciences; teaching assistant professor Natalie Hunt and doctoral graduate student Sumil Thakrar, bioproducts and biosystems engineering; and scientists at other institutions, used county-level data on agricultural practices and productivity to develop a spatially explicit life-cycle-emissions inventory for corn.

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The data show that reduced air quality resulting from corn production is associated with the premature deaths annually in the United States, with estimated damages in monetary terms of $39 billion. This uses a value from the U.S. EPA of $9 million for each death avoided.

Increased concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) are driven by emissions of ammonia a PM2.5 precursor that result from nitrogen fertilizer use. Average health damages from reduced air quality are $3.07 per bushel (56.5 lbs.) of corn, which is 62 percent of the $4.95 per bushel average corn market price of the last decade. This paper also estimates life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions of corn production, finding total climate change damages of $4.9 billion, or $0.38 per bushel of corn.

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"It's important for farmers to have this information so that they can implement practices that reduce the environmental impact of the crops they grow," Hill said. "Farmers can greatly improve the environmental profile of their corn by using precision agriculture tools and switching to fertilizers that have lower ammonia emissions."

In addition to changing the fertilizer type and application method, the study's results suggest potential benefits from strategic interventions in corn production, including improved nitrogen use efficiency, switching to crops requiring less fertilizer, and changing the location where corn is grown.

Aware that changes in practices can take time and planning, Hill suggests farmers could be offered incentives to switch to crops that demand less applied nitrogen while still offering market and nutritional benefits.

"Not only are ammonia emissions from fertilizer damaging to human health, but they are also a waste of money for farmers because they are not getting the benefit of the nitrogen that they're paying for," Hill said. "The number of deaths related to corn production could be reduced through these key tactics."

Source-Eurekalert