Natural gas, oil boom spurs sand mining in Midwest

Associated Press ^ | STEVE KARNOWSKI

[crusty old prospector]

Soon, the EPA will begin monitoring your kid's sand box. This is one way to shut down that evil "fracing" that is plaguing the nation.

[dila813]

“....some residents fear the increase in mining could harm human health and the environment”

Don’t you love this dribble....some... as in one mental patient in the local jail.

[cripplecreek]

Funny in a sad and pathetic sort of way.

You can mine the sand in the midwest but can’t use it for its intended purpose here because of the great lakes directional drilling ban.

[crusty old prospector]

This time of the year, I am guessing that most of the piles of hazardous sand are frozen in place.

[crusty old prospector]

Yep, both the Utica and Marcellus Shale are beneath Lake Erie and Ontario.

[crusty old prospector]

Oops, they are present beneath Lake Ontario but are too shallow and thermally immature.

[cripplecreek]

[who_would_fardels_bear]

I recently visited Rio Tinto's Borax mine in Boron, CA. They had trucks out there digging, and other trucks spraying water to keep the diggings from blowing away in the wind.

A small price to keep the neighbors happy, don't you think?

[crusty old prospector]

Yeah, after this article the sprinklers have already been ordered.

[CPT Clay]

Fracking sand ping

[CPT Clay]

I’m kind of confused as to why the Marcellus does not trend down into Tennessee.

[Puckster]

“Heather Andersen, of Bloomer, another retired schoolteacher turned activist”

I really don’t think your going to satisfy Ms. Andersen.......after all.....she’s and activist...don’t ya know.

[fishnuts2]

If the sand being mined was to be used for the manufacture of solar panels most of these same “activists” would be lining up with their Prius cars with trailers to haul it. As it is being used for the benefit of “Big Oil”, then, it is a bad and dangerous thing.

I live in one of the Counties mentioned, and know one of these knotheads that was quoted. Just another disgusting Statist!

[panaxanax]

“They fear fine silica dust from the mines and plants will make people sick, spoil the landscape and contaminate ground water.”

I wonder why the entire state of WA and all points eastward are not dying from silicosis, cancer and autoimmune diseases. The ash (super fine silica) from Mt. Saint Helens covered the eastern half of the state with up to 10” of the stuff. It was actually removed off the streets and highways with snowplows!

It did wonders for the soil. People from areas that weren’t hit as hard were going and gathering it up in 5 gallon buckets and spreading it over their gardens to aerate the soil.

Mother nature, you gotta’ love her. Retired teachers who turn activist...not so much.

[Puckster]

I would also think that, without much funding needed, someone could do research via health records from governments and the World Health Organization....etc., for areas which would be affected by such geographical deserts and natural events like volcanoes and see if there is a correlation with silica on health.

But, I'm sure activists would want themselves to get paid for redundant research......

[panaxanax]

Good point.

[who_would_fardels_bear]

Don’t have to satisfy the activists, just the average joe’s and josephine’s that wouldn’t mind living near an open pit mine if it was managed with some consideration for the neighbors.

[Smokin' Joe]

Crispin H. Pierce, an environmental public health professor at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Clare, said more information is needed about the risks of frac sand mining. Fresh silica dust has grains with sharp, jagged particles and is more dangerous than the weathered silica found in dirt, although it weathers quickly, he said.

What makes frac sand ideal is a combination of grain size, uniformity, roundness of the grains, and the absence of impurities. Roundness is important because round, (ideally spherical) grains leave more open pore space between them when packed together than angular grains which close the intergranular pore spaces off.

The very properties which make good frac sand make it relatively safe to handle compared to the sort of silica dust the fellow is talking about.

Of course, "more study is needed" (isn't it always--cross my palm with grant money!).

Sheesh. Ths same people who gripe about this would spend a weekend on a beach somewhere and never give that sand a second thought, although the sand mined for frac sand is often just sand from what once was a beach.

[Smokin' Joe]

A lot of the rock formations change names between PA and TN, for example the Beekmantown Formation is known in Tennessee as the Knox Formation.

If you look at the map in post 7, the equivalent names are pointed out. The rocks are often quite similar, and the names are holdovers from when the formations were first named in their respective areas.

It was simpler to retain the names and merely correlate between the two stratigraphic columns than try to sort out new names with all the papers and articles written about those formations already in existence.

[Puckster]

Sorry, my comment started with sarcasm and ended with a possible cheap way to analyze existing data.

I should have noted at the end with a “half/sarc”.

I’m really not interested in placating activists.