## **Industrial Sand Mining in Western Wisconsin:** Resources for Environmental Monitoring and Advocacy This page is an introduction to frac sand issues and airborne particles, aimed at connecting concerned community groups, hardware developers, and scientists. You will find resources to: * connect with projects and people facing frac sand issues and particle pollution * learn about particle pollution, health, and regulations * explore options for addressing frac sand mining in your community ****** ### Table of Contents **Frac Sand Mining** | ----------------------|--------------------- [Background Information](https://publiclab.org/wiki/nonmetallicmining#Industrial+Sand+Mining) | This page gives information about the history of frac sand mining, what it is, what it is used for, and the environmental and human health concerns that surround it. [People and Places](wiki/wisconsin) | The first permitting for Frac Sand mining in Wisconsin started in late 2006 ([Pearson, 2015](http://wisconsinfracsand.blogspot.com/)). Since then, thousands of people have participated in the fight against the frac sand mining industry's negative effects. Learn more about the groups involved and what they are doing on the Wisconsin wiki page. [Particulate Matter Monitoring](/wiki/pm) | The PM Monitoring wiki includes information that explains how particles form in the air, how they affect human health, how they are regulated, and how they can be monitored. The wiki delves deep into different ways particles form with a focus on nonmetallic mining and [silica dust](https://publiclab.org/wiki/silica-monitoring). [Advocacy Leverage Points](https://publiclab.org/wiki/frac-sand-advocacy-leverage-points) | This wiki discusses regulations surrounding frac sand mining and highlights local government leverage points towns and community groups can use to address frac sand issues. From here you can also link to the [Frac Sand Legislation wiki](https://publiclab.org/wiki/frac-sand-legislation), which discusses national and state regulations and legislation related to air quality that are particularly relevant to frac sand issues. [Action Oriented Resources](https://publiclab.org/wiki/frac-sand-action-oriented-resources) | The Action Oriented Resources wiki compiles many tools people can use in addressing frac sand issues. There are workshops on selecting advocacy strategies, guidelines for setting up an environmental monitoring program, resources for working with the media, tools for reporting pollution and contact information for state and county regulators. ***** ### Recent activity related to frac sand mining: [notes:frac-sand] ***** #### Outline of Wiki Documents [Background Information](https://publiclab.org/wiki/nonmetallicmining#Industrial+Sand+Mining) [People and Places](wiki/wisconsin) [Particulate Matter Monitoring](/wiki/pm) - [Silica dust](https://publiclab.org/wiki/silica-monitoring) - [Regulations on PM Monitoring](https://publiclab.org/wiki/pm-monitoring-regulations) - [Collecting Data on Particulate Matter](https://publiclab.org/wiki/pm-monitoring) - [Visual monitoring](/wiki/visual-pm) - [Filter-based monitoring](/wiki/filter-pm) - [Optical monitoring](/wiki/optical-pm) - [Passive monitoring](/wiki/passive-pm) - [Public Lab PM monitoring tool development](/wiki/pm-dev) - [Passive monitoring tool](https://publiclab.org/wiki/SEM-stub-pm) [Advocacy Leverage Points](https://publiclab.org/wiki/frac-sand-advocacy-leverage-points) - [Frac Sand Legislation](https://publiclab.org/wiki/frac-sand-legislation) [Action Oriented Resources](https://publiclab.org/wiki/frac-sand-action-oriented-resources) - [Identify Advocacy Pathways Workshop](https://publiclab.org/wiki/choosing-advocacy-pathways) - [Start your own Environmental Monitoring Study](https://publiclab.org/wiki/start-enviro-monitor-study) - [Strategize a media campaign](https://publiclab.org/wiki/creating-a-media-campaign) **** ####Research in progress and Wikis Related to: [Silica](https://publiclab.org/tag/silica), [Particulate Matter](https://publiclab.org/tag/silica/tag/PM), [Passive-pm monitoring](https://publiclab.org/tag/passive-pm), [Wisconsin](https://publiclab.org/tag/wisconsin)....
| Author | Comment | Last activity | Moderation | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| warren | "Reading through Mathew's note, i don't see a clearly labeled one, but I imagine we could find one online somewhere, or in a peer-reviewed paper? " | Read more » | almost 7 years ago | |||
| warren | "Gretchen, is there an example image (showing rounded and jagged edges) we can use as a reference to compare to, when looking at images of dust? " | Read more » | almost 7 years ago | |||
| stevie | "Just found this article for reference. " | Read more » | almost 7 years ago | |||
| AdditiveFutures | "stacked acrylic sheets. volumes determined through cutting thin sheets with a laser cutter.. " | Read more » | almost 7 years ago | |||
| warren | "Hi, Gretchen - what specific additional work based on Mathew's would help to answer this question? Can his proposed test using a particle of known ..." | Read more » | about 7 years ago | |||
| warren | "Also see https://publiclab.org/notes/mathew/10-07-2016/sizing-images-at-portland-science-hackday ! And this, where he tries to size a known diamet..." | Read more » | about 7 years ago | |||
| warren | "Also see https://publiclab.org/notes/mathew/10-07-2016/sizing-images-at-portland-science-hackday ! And this, where he tries to size a known diamet..." | Read more » | about 7 years ago | |||
| jeffalk | "Matthew: Please look again at the "Current Mine Information" you posted with your question. It has "Opr. Begin Date" of 6/1/2013 for Hoffman Constr..." | Read more » | over 7 years ago | |||
| jeffalk | "Hi Matthew, We met briefly years ago when you visited with Mike O'Connor in Buffalo County Wisconsin. Since then I've hopefully learned a bit more..." | Read more » | over 7 years ago | |||
| mathew | "@marlokeno pointed me to the US Dept. of Labor's Mine Data Retrieval System which indicates that Great Northern is currently abandoned. This is an..." | Read more » | over 7 years ago | |||
| DavidMack | "I would stick with the aluminum. It's probably the most commonly used material for PM monitoring because as you stated non-conducting materials ar..." | Read more » | almost 8 years ago | |||
| gretchengehrke | "Hi again, This document may be useful in deciphering situations in which CALPUFF would be more appropriate than AERMOD: https://www3.epa.gov/ttn/s..." | Read more » | about 8 years ago | |||
| gretchengehrke | "Hi Mary, This is a great question. I want to clarify that I don't necessarily think AERMOD is a bad model -- it just has draw-backs, and those draw..." | Read more » | about 8 years ago | |||
| guolivar | "The question if "which model is best" is not easy to answer as it is always dependent on what the results are used for. There have been a few studi..." | Read more » | about 8 years ago | |||
| mathew | "I know nothing about these models, but thought I'd add some links for reference AEROMOD: https://www3.epa.gov/scram001/dispersion_prefrec.htm#aerm..." | Read more » | about 8 years ago |