Notice of RetractionEffect of Ionization on Air Quality in a Pig House - A Pilot Study

Notice of Retraction

After careful and considered review of the content of this paper by a duly constituted expert committee, this paper has been found to be in violation of IEEE´s Publication Principles.

We hereby retract the content of this paper. Reasonable effort should be made to remove all past references to this paper.

The presenting author of this paper has the option to appeal this decision by contacting TPII@ieee.org.

The effects of an ionization-based air purification system on air quality in pig houses was evaluated and quantified. The aim was to determine whether using such a system in pig pens could remove airborne pollutants and improve the working environment, thereby decreasing the health risks to farmers. The evaluation comprised a field pilot study of air quality in a conventional pig house in Sweden. The ionization equipment used was an AircodeTM CX-200 and eight units were installed in the pig house. The measurements of air quality included real-time concentration of airborne dust particles, endotoxins and microorganisms, as well as gases (ammonia & carbon dioxide). The results showed little difference in the concentration of dust particles or gases after air purification. The dust concentrations in the air were lower than the Occupational Exposure Limit Value for all measurements. However, the concentration of endotoxins measured exceeded a risk level (exposure limit value for inflammation of respiratory tract). Microbiological analysis indicated that the airborne dust contained some bacteria and mould fungi. The ionization system was shown to reduce the concentrations of airborne endotoxins and microorganisms in the pig house over the five-day study period.