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A group of northeast Iowans effectively is keeping large frac sand mine companies from mining silica-rich sand in their county by building a consortium that set aside politics and focused on dealing with the matter locally, instead of with state intervention.
The Athabasca oil sands (are large deposits of bitumen or extremely heavy crude oil, located in northeastern Alberta, Canada – roughly centred on the boomtown of Fort McMurray.These oil sands, hosted primarily in the McMurray Formation, consist of a mixture of crude bitumen (a semi-solid rock-like form of crude oil), silica sand, clay minerals, and water.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is amending its existing standards for occupational exposure to respirable crystalline silica. OSHA has determined that employees exposed to respirable crystalline silica at the previous permissible exposure limits face a significant risk...
Mercury and its compounds are highly toxic substances for humans. Methylmercury and elemental mercury are of the highest concern. They are poisonous to the nervous system. There is some evidence at present that methylmercury can cause cancer in humans, but it is far from conclusive. However, there is no evidence at present that elemental mercury causes cancer in humans.