Kansas, USA, 3 July 2006:Kansas officials are using GIS to map out appropriate sites for the mass disposal of livestock in the event of bioterrorism or other disease outbreak as a precaution. Kansas State University said on July 2 that its researchers and various state agencies were mapping out disposal sites statewide using GIS to correlate large amounts of data.
“We’re acquiring the necessary information in digital form and building a model that can help find a suitable site for burying a large number of livestock,” said Geography Professor Shawn Hutchinson. “Given the type and size of the animals, we can determine the size of the burial pit, then use GIS to automatically search for the best place to dig.”
The system examines such conditions as soil type, topographical slopes in relation to water, and proximity to human populations.
