"Mining for Sand for Fracking Holds Risks for Communities, Study Says"

"As a domestic energy boom driven by hydraulic fracturing spreads, so could strip-mining for sand needed for the controversial production process, introducing risks to water, air, public health and property values, according to a report issued Thursday.

Sand mining has exploded across the bluffs and farmland of western Wisconsin, touching off a groundswell of resistance from the region’s small towns that seek to better control the process and its effect. The demand for sand could open up areas of a dozen other states to sand mining too, from Maine to Iowa, including northern Illinois, according to the report.

Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, involves high-pressure injection of millions of gallons of water laced with chemicals and sand into geological formations to unlock oil and gas trapped there. The sand props open the fissures created by the fracturing process and is porous enough to let oil and gas pass through and go up the well."

Neela Banerjee reports for the Los Angeles Times September 25, 2014.

SEE ALSO:

"US Oil & Gas Fracking Boom Could Drive Silica Sand Mining Operations In 12 More States, Environmental Groups Say" (International Business Times)