Sand Mining and Transport:

Potential Health Effects

Thomas M. Peters, PhD, CIH

Associate Professor

University of Iowa

Iowa City, IA

Midwest Environmental Health Policy Summit

Feb 2014

Hydraulic Fracturing Well

2

http://www.sustainable.co.za/blog/2013/10/karoo-fracking-what-you-need-to-know/

Sand In The Heartland

• 500-million-year-old rock formations contain high quality silica sand

• Deposits particularly well-suited for hydraulic fracturing (fracking) – Round and hard

– Can be screened to be a certain size

• Ideal for use as a proppant to hold open fissures in stone in a frack well

3

http://www.startribune.com/local/blogs/136612183.html

Example In Illinois

Ottawa Peru/Lasalle

Starved Rock

State Park

Sand Mining

Remove overburden

Extract deposit

http://www.mintpressnews.com/sand-land-fracking-industry-mining-iowas-

iconic-sand-bluffs-in-new-form-of-mountaintop-removal/63310/

Transport to processing

http://www.kenworth.com/news/news-

releases/2012/january/fleets-haul-in-savings-with-

kenworth-t660-regional-haulers.aspx

Sand Processing & Shipping

http://tanzaniacrusher.org/wp-

content/uploads/2013/04/sand-

line5.jpg

http://www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/2011/08/23/court-paves-

way-for-continuation-of-sand-loading-for-export/

Barge Truck

http://www.hulcher.com/industries/frac-sand/

Train

Many Complex Issues

• Community issues involved in deciding

whether to develop this resource

Pros

• Develop economic

base

• Increase jobs

Cons

• Increase pollution

• Increase noise,

trucking

• Road wear

• Loss of natural beauty

• Loss of tourism

http://buffalo.uwex.edu/files/2011/12/Revised-Economic-growth-mining-version-1-4.pdf 7

doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.2190/NS.23.1.c

Particulate Matter (PM)

Air Pollution

• Hot processes

– Vapor particle

– Dp < 1 µm

– Combustion (e.g., diesel

engine)

• Mechanical processes

– Dp > 1 µm

– Grinding, sanding,

excavating

Particle Diameter

Ma

ss

0.001 0.01 0.1 1 10 µm 1 10 100 1000 104 nm

Nucleate Condense

Vapor Mechanical

Generation

Dust

Mist

Spray

Fume

Smoke

Smog

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/11/fracking-illinois-frac-sand-

starved-rock-state-park_n_2278005.html

8

Basis for PM Regulation

• Increased respiratory symptoms, such as irritation of the airways, coughing, or difficulty breathing

• Decreased lung function

• Aggravated asthma

• Development of chronic bronchitis

• Premature death in people with heart or lung disease

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PM Regulations

• EPA (community health) – All particle types

– PM smaller than 10 um (PM10)

<155 ug/m3 over 24-hr

– PM smaller than 2.5 um (PM2.5)

<12 ug/m3 annual avg; <35 ug/m3 over 24-hr

– Only measured in 8 locations in Iowa

– State issues permits to ensure compliance

• MSHA and OSHA (worker health) – Respirable (~PM4)

Particles that enter the deep lung

All particle types and specific compounds

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Respirable Crystalline Silica

• Specific component of PM of concern for mining of sand – Silicosis (fibrosis or scarring of lung)

– Lung cancer

• Regulatory levels – OSHA

PM4 - 100 µg/m3

Protect workers

– Some states (MN, CA) PM4 - 3 µg/m3

Protect everyone, including venerable populations

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Silicosis

• Repeat injury;

granuloma

formation; scarring

• Gradual progression

• Once scarring,

generally

irreversible

Normal Alveolus Injured Alveolus

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Are there risks? We know PM and

respirable crystalline silica

are hazards. But what

about from sand activities?

What do we know

about exposures?

http://www.plasticisers.org/en_GB/science/risk-vs-hazard

Exposures From Sand Mining,

Processing, and Handling

• Sand mining and processing generate airborne PM and respirable crystalline silica – Blast, load, and haul

– Process activities such as crushing

– Shipping and disposal of “waste sand”

• Occupational exposures (miners, transporters) – Common to exceed OSHA standards for respirable

cyrstalline silica

– Ways to control are well documented

• Community exposures – Less clear

– No required monitoring

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Our Work:

Answer Several Questions

1. Is particulate matter from sand mining operations hazardous?

2. What are community exposures to PM and respirable crystalline silica?

3. What are risks of developing adverse health effects from inhalation of particulate matter from a sand mine?

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Is PM from sand mining operations

hazardous?

• Collected sand types – Unprocessed sand from mine

– Processed frac sand

• Characterize physicochemical properties – Size distribution

– Composition

• Evaluating toxicity – Cell testing (in vitro)

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Done

On-going

Summer

Sieve Analysis

40

60

80 100

Mesh Sizes Mine

Sand

Processed

Sand

• Largest sand

removed

• Some ‘fines’

removed but a lot

still present

• ‘Fines’ present

health hazard Particle Diameter, µm

‘fines’

‘fines’

Sand is not one size

Wind Simulation

Median Diameter = 2 μm

Wind blowing over mine sand or processed sand can generate

airborne respirable particles

Next, we will assess crystalline silica content

Mass C

oncentr

ation

Respirable (< 4 µm)

Particle Diameter, µm

What are community exposures to

PM and respirable crystalline silica?

• Atmospheric dispersion modeling

• Air monitoring and sampling

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Sites to Model

• Processing Plant with Sand Piles

• Sand Mine

Model Inputs And Receptors Processing Plant

Property Line

Preschool

Hospital

Model Inputs

Wind Rose

Receptors • Dust emission rates

for sources

• Topography

• Meteorological data

Sand Processing

Emission Sources Sand from mine

Dry to

remove

moisture

Silo Storage

Load on

trains

Wash &

Screen

PM10 Without Fugitive Emissions

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Preschool

Hospital

Highest values

Open Mine Modeling

• WDNR Lists the following as sources of PM

– Drilling

– Blasting

– Crushing

– Screening

– Conveyers/Stackers

– Material Handling

– Paved Hauling

Air Sampling And Monitoring

• Traditional air sampling – EPA reference method sampling in towns

with heavy mining

– Respirable crystalline silica monitoring outside homes

• Real-time monitoring – First deployment trains carrying sand

– Other processes (load barges, processing plants, etc)

• Low-cost detectors – <~$1k for continuous monitoring of mine or

process

Starting Up

Summer

Starting Up

Real-time Monitoring

Camera

Sound and

Vibration

Triggers

Particle Monitor

60-80 trains per day

pass on two tracks

0 100 200 300 400 500

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1:1

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Time

trains

Trains Cause Spike In PM10

Almost all spikes in

concentration correlate

with train passing

Sometimes

spike missing or

much lower

Train

No Train

Night Clear problem with

train detection;

suspect wind

PM

10, µ

g/m

3

Next: Associate types of trains from pictures with spikes

Low-Cost Detectors

• Best practices to suppress dust from sand

mining operations are available

• However, no monitoring is performed to

ensure practices are followed

– EPA monitors are too expensive ($20K each)

• We will apply low-cost detectors ($400) to

assess PM concentrations near sand mines

Summer

Summary

• Sand is big business in the Heartland of the US

• Sand mining operations present complicated

issues that state agencies and local

communities must deal with

• We hope to answer some key questions related

to ambient air exposures

– PM4 / respirable crystalline silica

– PM2.5 / PM10

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