The University of Iowa’s (U of I) School of Occupational and Environmental Health held a public forum titled, “Assessment Of Health Risks From Community Exposure To Silica Sand During Sand Mining.” According to Tom Peters, a professor in U of I’s department of occupational and environmental health, his group obtained funding from the National Institute of Health for study of…
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Comprehensive data compiled by a respected air-monitoring scientist demonstrates that people living near frac sand facilities are safe from exposure to hazardous levels of crystalline silica. A study conducted by Dr. John Richards of Air Control Techniques used 657 daily average PM4 crystalline silica measurements, almost two years’ worth of data, and it found the long-term average concentrations measured at…
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The Winona, Minn., city council decided against requiring air-quality monitoring at frac sand facilities in the city, according to the Winona Post. Instead of requiring monitoring equipment, city leaders decided to focus on creating new dust management rules – requirements that loading facilities be enclosed, for example – and on better enforcement of the rules the city already has. Citizen…
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Rangeland Energy is moving up to eight railcars per day of frac sand for Halliburton at its Rio crude-by-rail terminal near Loving, N.M., keeping alive a system that would otherwise be idled amid narrow domestic crude differentials, according to a report on Reuters. The midstream operator is moving as many as eight railcars per day of frac sand at the…
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Rangeland Energy announced that the largest frac sand unit train shipped to date in North America has arrived at the company’s RIO Hub located near Loving, N.M. The record 150-car unit train carried 16,500 tons (33 million lb.) of frac sand and was powered by five diesel locomotive engines. The unit train originated in Ottawa, Ill., and was operated by…
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More than 100 people attended a meeting of the Houston County, Minn., Planning Commission during which the commission reviewed a zoning amendment proposed by the Houston County Protectors (HCP), a group which opposes the establishment of frac sand mining in the county. According to the Spring Grove Herald, the planning commission voted 5 to 2 to withhold its stamp of…
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Now that the price of oil has dropped by 50 percent or more – down to $45 a barrel on Sept. 18 – frac sand production in Wisconsin also has dropped by 50 percent, according to a report on Wisconsin Public Radio.
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North America Frac Sand Inc., Calgary, Alberta, Canada, has entered into a share exchange agreement to acquire 100 percent of the issued and outstanding shares of North America Frac Sand (CA) Ltd. through the issuance of 37.8 million shares of the company. The acquisition will be completed upon North America Frac Sand (CA) Ltd. providing additional due diligence which will…
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Environmental group The Houston County Protectors offered the Houston County, Wis., board what the advocacy group described as a “thoughtful, balanced” amendment to the county’s mining ordinance. Representing the Protectors, Ken Tschumper in a statement said the proposed change to the county’s mineral extraction ordinance “resolves much of the controversy … by proposing two significant changes” – prohibiting frac sand…
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Dakota Plains Holdings Inc. reported that frac sand transloading volumes were 195,000 tons in the second quarter compared to 110,000 tons in the first quarter of 2015, a 78 percent increase. Revenue from frac sand transloading was $1.6 million for second quarter compared to $0.2 million for the second quarter 2014. The increase in revenue was due to the fact…
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