Biogenic production of hydrogen sulphide (H2S) in oil reservoirs (souring) has been shown to be controlled effectively using nitrite and molybdate salts. In the present work the effects of addition of nitrite and molybdate on reducing the emission of H2S from swine manure slurry was investigated in the laboratory and semi-pilot scale systems. Addition of 80 mM nitrite or 2 mM molybdate (final concentration in the manure slurry) to fresh manure in the laboratory scale closed systems (125 mL and 4 L) reduced the concentration of H2S in the headspace gas from 1500 microL L(-1) to 10 microL L(-1) which maintained during the remaining period of trials (40-60 days). With aged manure, similar results were achieved with a lower level of nitrite (10 mM). Simultaneous or sequential additions of nitrite and molybdate to fresh manure had similar effects. Contrary to the systems simulating biological conditions in oil reservoirs in which simultaneous addition of nitrite and molybdate has been reported to have a synergistic effect, no synergism was observed when nitrite and molybdate were added to the manure simultaneously. Experiments with fresh manure slurry in the semi-pilot scale systems (200 L) confirmed the effectiveness of this approach in which addition of 80 mM nitrite or 2 mM molybdate or a combination of 80 mM nitrite and 2 mM molybdate decreased the concentration of the H2S in the headspace gas from an initial value of 500 microL L(-1) to a low level in the range 2-25 microL L(-1) and maintained these low levels during the remaining period of trials (16 days). The concentration of ammonia (NH3) in the headspace gas of the treated systems was similar to that observed in the control system (untreated), indicating that the treatment did not have an effect on the level of present NH3. Although the addition of nitrite or molybdate reduced emissions of H2S from swine manure and the associated health and safety concerns, it had little impact on the intensity of odour in the headspace gas samples from the semi-pilot scale system.