By Ta’Leah Van Sistine, community reporter/editor
A faculty-student research team at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire is monitoring frac sand mines in western Wisconsin to analyze the health effects they may have on the general public.
Students Mark Larsen, Kasee Meyer and public health and environmental studies Prof. Crispin Pierce introduced their research focused on particulate matter (PM) last week at the Augusta Memorial Public Library.
Particulate matter is a mixture of solid particles and liquid droplets found in the air. Meyer said it can be created from diesel engines, combustion, burning candles and incense, as well as frac sand mining.
Two main types of particle pollution include PM10 and PM2.5. Meyer said the research team is less worried about PM10 because it stays in the upper respiratory system when a person breathes it in, and it leaves when the person sneezes or coughs.
“PM2.5, when you breath it in, can go to your lower respiratory system and cause health issues,” Meyer said, and these effects can include asthma, decreased lung function and irregular heartbeat, among others.
This public health concern is the backbone of the research team’s project because a number of frac sand mines and processing plants are located amid western Wisconsin’s sandstone formations.
Frac sand mining is the process of obtaining frac sand, which is needed for hydraulic fracturing: using “high pressure water to break open underground geologic formations containing oil and gas,” according to Earthworks.
PurpleAir monitors
The UW-EC research team has installed 25 to 30 PurpleAir monitors in west-central Wisconsin to measure the PM2.5 concentration in the air.
Larsen said a PurpleAir monitor is the size of a softball and can connect to WiFi. Based on the monitor’s reading, Larsen said the research team can determine whether there is an unhealthy level of PM2.5. Each monitor also uploads its readings to the PurpleAir website once it’s installed.
The PurpleAir website has a map that shows where monitors are located across the globe and their readings of the air around them.
“Anyone interested in air quality or just curious can look on the website,” Larsen said. “The PurpleAir monitors are comparable to federally regulated monitors, but they’re a fraction of the cost. I think it’s kind of cool how accessible it is to the general public.”
Some federally-regulated monitors can cost thousands of dollars, Larsen said, where PurpleAir monitors usually range around $250.
Air quality standards
The Environmental Protection Agency’s annual average standard for PM2.5 is a level of 12 micrograms per cubic meter (12.0 µg/m3), which means that the yearly average level of PM2.5 has to be less than 12 micrograms per cubic meter to be considered safe.
In looking at the PurpleAir monitors in the Chippewa Valley area, Larsen noted that as of Sept. 21, several of the monitors were highlighted green, and according to the website, this means “air quality is satisfactory, and air pollution poses little or no risk.”
Larsen said if a monitor location is highlighted in an orange or red color, this means air quality is in an unsafe range.
The research team has a monitor installed at the Augusta Library and during the presentation, Larsen burned incense underneath the monitor to show how the monitor’s reading would spike as a result.
Sure enough, the Augusta monitor location on the PurpleAir map turned red and registered a PM2.5 air quality index of 168 at one point during the presentation. As of 1 p.m. on Sept. 22, however, the Augusta monitor was green and had a PM2.5 air quality index of 8.
Meyer said it’s typical for the monitor into be in the green or yellow range — both of which indicate air quality is relatively satisfactory.
Current research
Many frac sand mines are closed or running at a lower capacity now, Meyer said, because after March 2020 and during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of mines closed down due to decreasing oil demands.
The research team has installed several monitors north of Eau Claire at residential properties close to frac sand mines. Meyer said since some of these mines are closed, she and other researchers are gathering baseline air quality data right now.
Meyer said this will enable the research team to collect more accurate comparative data about how frac sand mining will affect people who live near the mines, if and when they reopen,
Pierce said those interested in having a monitor installed can contact him at (715) 836-5589.
The Sand Sentinel Program — an initiative that aims to make it easier for people to collect and file reports against frac sand mining companies for suspected permit violations — has a link on its website to the Wisconsin DNR violation reporting form, as well as additional information.
Pierce stressed that he and the research team do not support or condone frac sand mining.
“We want to get good information to folks and communities,” Pierce said. “Our job is to do the science and share that with people, so they can make their own decisions.”