These cell-eating bacteria have been associated with skin problems and memory loss in humans. According to the U.S. EPA, agricultural runoff contributes to over half of the pollution in North Carolina's impaired waterways. Up to 30 million gallons of waste fester in open-air pits that leak, overflow and break, contaminating waterways, polluting drinking water and killing fish. It would take people in the city of Charlotte more than 60 years to produce the amount of waste that North Carolina hogs produce in one year, according to the North Carolina Environmental Defense Fund. Yet, no treatment of this waste is required.
Liquid waste rises to the top of the lagoons, emitting ammonia and methane into the air.
Phosphates and nitrates can accumulate for months and often leach into groundwater and wells. Excess nitrates, phosphates, and toxic sludge are sprayed and spread on crop fields. Much of the waste runs off into nearby streams and rivers, and leaches into groundwater and wells. Runoff from fields, waste from lagoon spills, and nitrates from ammonia in the air deplete rivers and streams of oxygen and choke aquatic life. The waste, containing high levels of nitrogen and phosphorous, is collected on concrete slabs and then pumped into nearby open-air pits, or lagoons.