To: The Minnesota State House, The Minnesota State Senate, and Governor Tim Walz
Frack Sand Mining Health Safety Standards
The State of MN is enacting health & safety standards for frack silica sand mining. Establishing standards for air quality as well as any & all water pollution from said mining.
Why is this important?
A large number of oil companies are moving into MN to begin digging silica sand. This sand is used as a part of the fracking process. MN has a large amount of this sand that is at or close to the surface. Much of these deposits are found along the MN River as well as the Cannon & the MIssissippi Rivers. The problem with this sand is the dust. It is extremely fine & can carry for long distances & is a carcinogen. It causes a disease called Scilicosis(similar to Mesothelioma). Anyone who lives with a few miles of a mine has an extremely high chance of developeing this lung disease. Right now rural counties who have no one qualified to deal with this are being overrun with permit requests. This needs to be handled on a statewide basis. Also these are open pit, involving blasting & haevy truck traffic. One mine is Wisconsin has 550 truck trips a day. Unless we want to turn S.E. MN into West Virgini, WE NEED TO ACT NOW