The following post is related to the Center’s work on a Health Impact Assessment of a proposed biomass-powered energy facility in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia.  The facility was proposed as a potential remedy to the issue of nutrient concentration related to trends in livestock production.  Each post in the series describes one particular aspect of interest from the Center’s analysis. 

Employment

The technology vendor estimates that if constructed, the facility would bring 32 new jobs to the Valley for the operations of the facility and an additional five jobs for a separate task of turning the ash byproduct of the combustion process into a useful fertilizer. In addition, the facility would create 100 or more jobs for truck drivers in the Valley. Litter is already being trucked throughout the Valley to support its use as fertilizer. Currently, most litter that leaves a poultry farm in order to be used as a fertilizer goes to a litter broker before it goes to a crop farmer. The litter broker serves as a middle man between poultry growers and crop farmers in order to simplify the supply chain. If the facility is constructed, brokers may no longer have enough litter to supply crop growers demand and may lose revenue and employment as a result. Some brokers also truck their litter so they could in theory move from trucking litter to individual farms toward a position trucking litter to the facility. However, this would not replace jobs for brokers who do not truck their own litter and may not create a sufficient number of trucking jobs to make up for the number of lost broker positions.  In addition, it is unclear whether litter brokers would be willing to make the transition from a position of a small independent broker to one working for a large poultry litter-to-energy facility

Finally, using litter as fuel will also impact the cost of fertilizing cropland in the Valley. Litter is an attractive fertilizer option for most farmers in part because it is usually cheaper than commercial fertilizer. Crop farmers would have to make up the additional fertilizer cost which could also impact their income and employment.

The Impact of Employment on Health

It is commonly known that our overall health is at least partially dependent on our behavior, such as the type and quantity of food we eat, how often we exercise, and having regular visits with doctors. Access to all of these health-supporting resources is to some extent dependent on how much money each household has to devote to things like healthy food; gym memberships; safe, pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods; and health insurance premiums, co-pays, and deductibles. Because employment impacts our income, unemployment can make people less likely to practice healthy behaviors.

In addition, research has shown that employment can have a positive impact on health besides its impact on the pocketbook. Having a career is associated with improvements in self-reported mental and physical health and reductions of symptoms and hospitalizations.

The impact of employment on health is seldom considered in policy decisions but it can often have just as big of an effect as impacts to air or water quality.