"Trucks Hauling Frac Sand Not a Source of Lung-Disease Dust, Data Shows"

"Trucks hauling mounds of sand into the southern Minnesota town of Winona for delivery to drilling sites across the nation's shale regions are not spewing dangerous dust emissions into the air, preliminary data shows.

This data was released early this month, from a monitor for crystalline silica dust, or frac sand, a known trigger of lung disease. The instrument was placed along Winona's busy truck route at the start of the year in response to local concern.

Dust reached detectable levels only two out of the 38 days measured during the last seven months, according to air regulators at the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA)."

Zahra Hirji reports for InsideClimate News October 16, 2014.