University of Iowa researchers say the impact of frac sand mining on air quality was not as great as they expected

The University of Iowa's Occupational and Environmental Health Department is continuing to research questions about the impact of frac sand mining--a study it began nearly three years ago when the issue first surfaced in Winneshiek and Allamakee counties.

On Wednesday night, UI's Tom Peters and Jeff Falk presented a summary of their preliminary findings to a crowd of around 30 people gathered at the Decorah Public Library.

Peters reported on air samples taken at 17 homes located within half a mile of silica sand operations in Minnesota and Wisconsin.  "The measured concentrations were quite low," Peters told the audience, concluding, "I was quite surprised."

Falk reported how mobile air quality stations were placed within half a mile of a frac sand quarry near Winona, Minnesota.   He said his study found short increases in readings of airborne particulate matter, but daily averages that were way below the levels considered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to be hazardous.

The two researchers and other University of Iowa professors and staffers plan to continue their studies, however, because so far there hasn't been a lot of academic research about issues relating to frac sand mining.