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Aluminum contaminates both enteral and parenteral nutrients. Contamination depends on the amount of aluminum present naturally in chemicals or from the manufacturing process. Enteral nutrients such as soy formula, preterm infant formula, and casein hydrolysate formula that are highly processed are heavily contaminated with aluminum. Intravenous calcium, phosphorus, and albumin solutions have high aluminum content (>500 mcg/L). The kidney is the dominant organ for aluminum excretion. Even with normal renal function, only 30%–60% of an aluminum load from parenteral nutrition is excreted in the urine, resulting in tissue accumulation of aluminum. The risk for toxicity is greatest in infants with chronic renal insufficiency and long-term pediatric parenteral nutrition patients. Rapid growth in the infant can theoretically potentiate aluminum toxicity in all infants. The critical level of aluminum loading that results in bone disorders is not known. To minimize tissue accumulation, aluminum content of parenteral and enteral nutrients for infants and children should be reduced.

Four .8-ha pastures of bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon[L.] Pers.) were fertilized with either 456 or 873 kg/ha of nitrogen (N) from swine lagoon effluent (two replicates per treatment) and grazed by steers over two summers. Within each pasture, steers received forage only, an energy source (corn), a mixture of corn and soybean meal, or a mixture of corn and blood meal via electronic Calan feeders. All supplements were offered at a level of 1.36 kg/d, and the soybean meal and blood meal supplements provided similar among quantities of protein. Weight gains were similar among supplemented steers, but supplemented steers gained faster (P< .05) than controls. Nitrogen fertilization level had no effect on steer gains, steer grazing days per hectare, or in vitro dry matter disappearance, NDF, and ADF of clipped forage samples. Plant protein and nitrate ion concentrations were greater (P< .06) in clipped forage samples receiving the higher N application rate. Nitrate ion concentrations were greater in available forage samples from the pastures with the high N application rate. Mean total N and nitrate N concentrations were similar in water samples obtained from monitoring wells for the two N treatments over the 2 yr and there were no year × N interactions. Chloride concentrations were greater (P< .05) and pH and specific conductance were less in water samples collected from the 873 kg than from the 456 kg/ha N treatment. Long-term studies are needed to examine the possible cumulative effects of applying various levels of swine waste to the same land area.