I had the opportunity to listen to Robert Glenn at the sand mine hearing.
He was the scientist AF Gelhar wheeled in from a Crowell & Moring out of Washington, D.C.
This firm’s litigation group provides made-to-order science, apparently, for “product liability and mass toxic tort cases,” according to their website.
I must admit, for a while there I was convinced that the only people who might have trouble from the dust would be people really close to the mine, maybe 15 or 20 families, possibly more depending on the wind and blasting (check out the Youtube channel UNION 2030 for an example of a Gelhar mine blast and you will see what I mean).
I had read editorials from the Fox Valley where people were worried about silica dust.
I thought worries about dust getting all the way there might be reaching a bit.
But now, after hearing Robert Glenn talk I’m not so sure about that.
I certainly heard Mr. Glenn say the dust will get lighter than air and it goes really far into the atmosphere, they don’t know how far or where it ends up.
Testing is being done right now, piggy-backing a DNR study,
No results yet, but he hopes the results will be “interesting.”
His study is funded by the frac sand industry, by the way.
The only science Glenn had to offer was rather outdated, based on “general populations” in other states and not at all specific to this site.
Any on-site models in Waupaca county?
Nope.
I found the hydro-geologist to be very unprepared as well.
No ground water models at all, only vague reassurances.
AF Gelhar has not done enough science.
Our community here in Union has been asking for real science for several months now.
The display put on by AF Gelhar was a complete mess of junk science and does not go far enough to protect our town or our county.