Saturday, April 7, 2012

Frac Sand Issues

With all the time I have spent thinking about, researching, and writing about fracking issues, I have not, before tonight, heard about the frac sand debate and issues.

Surprisingly, the article spurring this post, was posted on the Columbus Dispatch website in January of this year (2012) I say surprisingly, because I check their site about once a week, searching for the terms frac, fracking, and hydraulic fracturing. The article mentioned has not popped up in my searches before tonight.

Basically, residents near sand-mining facilities are concerned about the effects on human health and the environment. Nearby residents, in the vicinity of the mines, say the sand is not kept wet so it goes air-born when the wind blows, and it is not regular sand. It is silica sand that has sharp, jagged parts and "fresh, fine silica dust is a well-documented health risk blamed for lung diseases such as silicosis, cancer and autoimmune diseases."