Treatment of Animal Wastes at the
Greenfield Laboratories of
Eli Lilly & Company
THOMAS W. BLOODGOOD, Senior Maintenance Engineer
Eli Lilly and Company
Greenfield, Indiana
INTRODUCTION
Eli Lilly and Company began operations at Greenfield, Indiana in 1912 when
the company purchased 152 acres of farmland. Today the laboratories sprawl over
700 acres and the employment has increased from a handful of people to a work
force of approximately 500.
Initial efforts at the Greenfield Laboratories consisted of production of biologically produced medical items. This continued through World War II when the
production reached its peak and high quantities of gas-gangrene antitoxin, tetanus
toxoid, and typhus and influenza vaccines were requested by the Armed Forces to
protect troops abroad. During this time nearly 1200 horses were kept at Greenfield
for the production of the antitoxins.
The biggest addition at Greenfield began in the mid-1950's when the company's agricultural sciences research program was started. Three important phases
of agricultural research are now conducted at the laboratories: Veterinary Science,
Animal Nutrition, and Plant Science. The veterinary scientists work to improve
livestock poultry production, and the health of household pets through the development of products for the prevention, control, and treatment of animal diseases. The animal nutritionists are seeking compounds that can be added to feed
in order to improve the growth efficiency of livestock and poultry. Plant Science
personnel are searching for compounds that will protect plants from diseases and
insects or will influence plant growth in desirable ways.
Within the last five years facilities have been constructed at Greenfield, to
carry on the company's toxicity studies and tissue culture work in human medicine.
It is the purpose of this paper to describe the waste treatment facilities at the
Greenfield Laboratories that handle the wastes generated by the thousands of animals used in the various production and research programs. Actually, these facilities treat all wastes at the plant, but emphasis will be placed on their use in the
treatment of animal waste. As will be seen, there are areas for improvement in
the treatment achieved at some of these plants, but it is hoped that the information presented will be of assistance to those of you concerned with th e treatment
of animal wastes.
DESCRIPTION OF TREATMENT FACILITIES
At Greenfield, there are five separate waste treatment plants that are located
throughout the plant to serve the various research areas.
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