By LeAnn R. Ralph
Living near a sand mine could decrease your life expectancy from one to three days per year that you live near the facility because of poor air quality.
Dr. Crispin Pierce, an associate professor of the Environmental Health Program at UW-Eau Claire, along with several of his students, presented some of their research on air monitoring near sand mines in this area at the Colfax Municipal Building auditorium March 30.
Crystalline silica is present in sand, sandstone and granite.
When respirable crystalline silica dust becomes airborne, it can enter the lungs and scratch the lung tissue, causing scarring that blocks oxygen absorption.
A number of frac sand mines have been developed in western Chippewa County within the past 10 years, and the Howard Town Board has approved a mine operator’s license for the 1,300 acre Albertville Valley sand mine southeast of Colfax along the Dunn County and Chippewa County border.
Frac sand mined in Wisconsin is used to boost oil well and natural gas production in Texas and other states.
Dr. Pierce and his students tested the air quality around frac sand mines and compared it to the base air quality testing site established by the state Department of Natural Resources.
Two kinds of air particles have been studied: PM 10, which includes particles the size of dust and pollen that can get caught in the upper respiratory system, and PM2.5, fine particulate matter that is more dangerous because it has the potential to be inhaled into the lower respiratory tract, and because of the small size, can be absorbed into the bloodstream and harm other organs.
Inhaling PM2.5 can result in decreased lung function, asthma symptoms becoming worse, irregular heartbeat, non-fatal heart attacks and premature death from heart or lung disease.
Air monitoring devices have consistently found elevated levels of fine particulates around frac sand facilities compared to the background, base level, Dr. Pierce said.
Local testing conducted near New Auburn and Bloomer, in the center of the frac sand activity, was compared to the DNR background site as a control.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency sets an annual standard of 12 micrograms per cubic meter for PM2.5 and a 24-hour standard of 35 micrograms per cubic meter.
Bloomer
The Bloomer site was monitored for a 23 month period from October of 2014 to September of 2016.
PM2.5 was measured at 7.7. micrograms per cubic meter in contrast with the DNR site of 5.11 micrograms per cubic meter, “a slight increase” compared to the DNR background site and below the EPA annual standard 12 micrograms per cubic meter.
Several days were above the EPA annual standard but none of the testing was above the 35 micrograms per cubic meter 24-hour standard.
PM10 also was measured against EPA’s standard for PM10, but DNR has not published PM10 research, so a direct comparison could not be completed.
New Auburn
The New Auburn site was monitored for 10.5 months from July of 2015 to May of 2016.
Dr. Pierce and his students “were a little bit alarmed” because the monitors detected 22.7 micrograms per cubic meter in contrast to the DNR site’s monitor of 6.57 micrograms.
The site near New Auburn was one kilometer [a little more than a half mile] northwest of the sand mine site.
The air monitors detected PM2.5 during the winter months, and in December, there were three days that went above the EPA’s 24-hour standard of 35 micrograms per cubic meter, which could be due to wood burning in the area increasing the particulate as well as some air inversion keeping the air still so the PM2.5 stayed suspended.
There were also PM10 spikes above the EPA standard, and the spikes corresponded with the PM2.5 spikes.
Life expectancy
Dr. Pierce said he and his students had looked at a couple of different studies involving hundreds of thousands of people who live in cleaner cities in the United States and dirtier cities in the United States.
In a dirty city, life expectancy is shorter, Dr. Pierce said.
Dr. Pierce applied the relationship of increases in particulate in the air to life expectancy in the sample areas.
In the Bloomer area, you would expect to see a one day loss of life for every year someone lived close to the facility near Bloomer, he said.
In New Auburn, for every year of living near the facility, you would expect a loss of life expectancy of three days, Dr. Pierce said.
Dr. Pierce and his students also talked about the “Albertville” air monitoring from May of 2017 to June of 2018.
From their remarks, it was not clear to which sand mine they were referring.
The Howard Town Board recently approved a mine license for Northern Sands Wisconsin to operate a sand mine on the Chippewa County and Dunn County line which is known as the Albertville Valley sand mine, but that mine is not yet in operation.
The other sand mine in the Town of Howard is the S&S mine on county Highway B.
The same general spikes and trends were observed on air monitors for the third sand mine. A higher spike in July, when the monitor filter appeared sooty, could have been from trash or garbage burning or wood burning.
On a year-long sample for PM2.5, during the winter months, a high spike was observed.
From August of 2017 to June of 2018, there were spikes above the EPA’s 12 micrograms per cubic meter standard.
The PM10 data showed consistent spikes that matched up with PM2.5 spikes.
Questions
Kathy Stahl, a Town of Colfax resident who lives just across the county line from the proposed Albertville Valley sand mine, said she had attended a Wisconsin Industrial Sand Association meeting during which it had been asserted that burning materials, automobile exhaust and industrial processes produce most of the PM2.5, although a substantial fraction is from grinding stone, agricultural processes and road operations.
Dr. Pierce said his research is focusing on crystalline silica and looking for a “signature” to be able to distinguish sand from sand mine facilities and road salt or an agricultural field.
While it is important to determine where the dust comes from, “I’m concerned about the health of people no matter where the dust comes from,” Pierce said.
Crystalline silica will not be part of a combustion process, he noted, adding that he wants PM2.5 to be evaluated and compared to the national standard.
Lee Boland, another Town of Colfax resident who lives just across the county line from the proposed Albertville Valley sand mine, said he had spent half the winter trying to get the snow to slide off roof of his shed.
The snow had finally melted off four days earlier, but now that it had not rained, there is a residue on the roof, and Boland said he was curious to know what it is and if it could be tested.
Finding residue on windows, glass patio furniture and windshields is common, Dr. Pierce said.
And while Dr. Pierce has taken samples that are reflective of crystalline silica, he is unable to test the samples, he said.
The best way to find out what is in the residue on the shed is to install an air monitor. The larger particles are much less concerning because they are not as dangerous as the small particles, Dr. Pierce said.
The DNR has purchased more air monitors, he noted.
Dr. Pierce and his students did a presentation at the Chippewa Falls Public Library several weeks before the presentation at the Colfax Municipal Building auditorium and planned to do other presentations in west central Wisconsin as well.
