Protesters delay bus tour to protest frac sand mining скачать в хорошем качестве

Protesters delay bus tour to protest frac sand mining

They hopped on a tour bus to spread a message. The problem was it wasn't their bus. At about 7:15 a.m. Wednesday, a coach bus pulled into the parking lot at the Earle Brown Heritage Center to take participants of an informational silica sand conference on a tour of sand mines in western Wisconsin. Before riders could get on, seven protesters climbed to the roof of the bus and refused to move. The group was protesting the growth of industrial silica sand mining in Wisconsin and southeastern Minnesota. This type of sand is ideal for use in hydrofracking, a technique in which a pressurized mixture of water, sand and chemicals is injected into rock formations to keep cracks open. Natural gas is extracted from those cracks. Activists from southern Minnesota and Iowa said they tried to prevent the tour to highlight environmental and health risks of sand mining. Jake Olzen of Lake City said he has concerns about how groundwater might be affected by runoff from the sediment. He said he also worries about chemicals used in the process. "The silica sand dust, it's a carcinogen that can cause silicosis," said Olzen. "And if you go into towns like Winona, the dust flies off of the trucks that come barreling through. In Winona there are hundreds of trucks a day and it just coats roads and cars." According to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency's website, health and DNR officials in Minnesota and Wisconsin don't have enough data yet to determine exactly what health risks frac sand mining pose to the public. Researchers at the University of Minnesota-Duluth organized the conference with the Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration. They said the conference was designed as an educational event to inform the public about sand mining as Minnesota and Wisconsin experience the rush to expand and develop sand mines for the purpose of hydrofracking. The silica sand mine bus tour was the finale of a three-day informational silica sand conference at the Earle Brown Heritage Center. About 60 protesters gathered in front of the center for the first day of the conference Monday. Brooklyn Center police said they were well-behaved and no one was arrested that day. Police say Wednesday's protesters were cooperative and came down after about an hour. "All they wanted was to get their message out," said Brooklyn Park Police Commander Tim Gannon. 'Then, once a ladder was brought up, we informed them that they would be arrested because of the assembly and also the trespass and they said that was fine and that they would come down willingly. UMD researcher and geology professor Jim Miller said the conference was open to the public and anyone could have attended as long as they paid the registration fee. Conference attendees included engineers and other people on the industry side, as well as people from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, University of Wisconsin-River Falls and Winona State. Miller told 12 News he admires the protesters' passion about the earth. "I'm passionate about the earth, too," said Miller. "But I realize that, as a geologist, I understand how we use the earth for everyday lives." Renee Banot http://www.ccxmedia.org/   / ccxmedia.org     / ccxnews   12 News is on Comcast cable channel 12 in the northwest suburbs of Minneapolis and includes the cities Brooklyn Center, Brooklyn Park, Crystal, Golden Valley, Maple Grove, New Hope, Osseo, Plymouth and Robbinsdale.