Sand and Gravel Pits

Sand and gravel pits are in every state in the nation and in almost every county someplace. They are open pits that grind up rock and gravel and dig sand up from dry river bottoms and old glacial valley floors. Most of the sand and gravel is used for construction projects. Tons of the material is used as aggregate for making cement, asphalt concrete, roadway bases, fill material, and many other construction-related projects. Access to aggregate material for building and construction projects is critical to maintain economic growth and continued building and repair of critical infrastructure such as highways, bridges, airport expansions, and the like.

 

According to the US Geological Services, in 2018, over 970 million tons of sand and gravel were produced by approximately 3,800 companies digging in 9,350 sand and gravel pits. 

 

When towns and cities were smaller, in some places just several decades ago, many of these pits were outside of town limits and not usually close to any neighborhoods or areas of dense population. As such, they could make as much dust and noise as they needed to. However, as the towns and cities grew and expanded, many of these pits became surrounded by residential neighborhoods and schools. All of that dust started to become a health hazard, and all of that noise started to drive people a bit crazy. 

 

While it may seem that the locations of sand and gravel mines are haphazard, there are two driving factors why sand and gravel pits are located where they are. 

 

Most obviously, deposits of sand and gravel in large quantities are usually only located where large river beds had been in the past. Many of these areas go back to the periods when giant glaciers came through the area, pushing and dragging incredible amounts of rocks and sand. When the glaciers receded, they left behind deposits, some of which are hundreds of feet deep. In addition to the old river beds, many valley floors are also rich with large deposits of this ground down material. So, there are limited areas where large enough deposits can be found to make it worthwhile to mine them. Many of these places run through areas that are quite populated and therefore can only be mined from still undeveloped land, making it harder to find places to mine. 

 

Once the deposit is known to be large enough to use, the second factor in determining the location of the pits is whether it is economically feasible to mine the deposit. Feasibility, in turn,  depends on the distance between the pit and where the material is going to be used. Transportation is the most significant variable in the decision. As a result, there is a financial incentive for sand and gravel pits to operate near developed areas.

 

The more developed an area becomes, the more the people living near sand and gravel pits try to close them down and stop any new ones from opening. Places like Boston, where there are no sand and gravel pits left, bring aggregate materials for building projects down from New Hampshire in trains. Without that aggregate, Boston can’t do many of their construction projects. 

 

Sand and gravel pits are difficult for a town trying to regulate them. Pits can’t just open anyplace they like; they need to be where the deposits of sand and gravel are. At the same time, laws are very specific when it comes to natural resource development. Many towns find themselves out of options and legal recourse in controlling many of the operations. In many places, zoning regulations are frequently overruled when it comes to sand and gravel pits. Many times state laws allowing the extraction of natural resources take away the local right to restrict these operations. Usually, all local governments are able to do is place conditions on the permit to protect the health and safety of the residents. Even these have been challenged in the courts and, when too restrictive, have been overturned. Local laws are able to regulate noise, hours of operations, travel routes, and some of these types of impacts. Apart from that, local towns most adhere to state laws.

 

Unfortunately, many state regulations controlling sand and gravel pits are quite lax. Some, such as Texas, do not even have requirements for onsite monitoring of air quality to measure particulate matter levels. They do not even ensure the pit operator restores the land after they are finished taking out what they want. In Texas, they can simply walk away leaving a deep hole in the ground even in the middle of a developed housing area. The industry does have to register with the state and obtain a permit for crushing rock and submit a dust control plan. However, no testing is done to see if the sand and gravel pit is in compliance with the plan they submitted. It does not seem fair that companies that are mining for natural resources are not subject to the same zoning rules as other businesses, but for now that is written into federal regulations, and the industry’s lobby works tirelessly to keep them intact. There is a need for tighter regulations but a financial incentive to leave the laws as they are, creating a standstill.

 

However, in part because of real threats to locals’ health, some pits are closed down. There’s even a movement to not allow them to operate near populated areas. There are a number of specific risks from living near a sand and gravel pit. 

 

1. Crystalline Silica (CS)

 

This danger has been around for decades, but with the explosion in fracking and the need for specialized sand to blend with fracking fluids, this has become a larger problem than ever before. Many new sand mining operations are opening up to supply the needs for this sand, and with that are exposing thousands of people to the dangers. The biggest danger to people working at these pits as well as living nearby is from CS. This material is one of the basic parts that makes up sand, soil, granite, and many other types of natural materials processed for our uses for sand. According to the federal government’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration, OSHA, “When these materials are crushed and ground, the CS becomes particle matter (PM). Much of the Crystalline Silica in particulate matter is small enough to be inhaled. This material is listed by the EPA as a human lung carcinogen. It is known to cause cancer. Also exposure to and inhaling CS may cause silicosis. It gradually causes lung tissue to scar. The scarring reduces lung function and the ability to take in oxygen for the body. It can also lead to other respiratory problems.”  

 

The serious health effects of exposure to CS dust have been known by the medical field since the 1930s, but regulations and some protections were only put into place by OSHA around 2017. For decades, it was known that working in mining operations and other types of industry that generate large quantities of CS particulate matter has caused cancer, lung disease, and other health issues in many workers. Now, however, there are CS-generating mines in much greater numbers and much closer to large populations than ever before. Instead of the industry being alarmed about the potential for widespread harm to people, they are, in fact, doing the opposite by denying there is an issue and moving full speed ahead to get the profit they can before there are any new restrictions and regulations placed on their industry. 

 

While research into the effects of these sand pits is limited, enough already points to dangerously high levels of silica particles in populated areas nearby. New research and reviews of past studies are being done by many universities and groups such as the Civil Society Institute and Environmental Working Group. The results  are expanding and reinforcing the knowledge that CS and other particulate matter are extremely harmful to people living nearby. Sand mines for fracking are one of the worst environmental hazards of recent times. Unfortunately, it is already too late for the thousands of people who are being exposed to the silica and have it deep inside their lungs.

 

In Chippewa, Wisconsin, researchers tested air samples near sand pits for silica particles less than 2.5 microns. Remember that particulate matter this size or less does not get trapped on its way to the lungs but penetrates the lungs going deep into the air sacs. What the researchers found was levels of tiny silica particles two to three times the safety level recommended by other states.

 

Westerly, Rhode Island, is famous for their beautiful beaches. They also are famous for the extremely high quality granite the quarries in town have produced for almost 200 years. The granite mined from the quarries is composed of almost 90% quartz, which is the most common form of crystalline silica, a known carcinogen, and a recognized hazard since the 1950s. The dust and particulate matter from these quarries infiltrates the neighborhoods around their borders. One man who, at age 47, was diagnosed with silicosis, the lung disease associated with high exposure to CS, never worked at the mine or any industry where he came in contact with it. He does however, live at the boundary of the quarry. Across town near one of the elementary schools, children play outside. However, in Westerly, the number of children who have suffered asthma attacks needing emergency room visits is the highest in the entire state. In 2016, Westerly Hospital noted almost 50% of their patients have chronic asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

 

The industry likes to refer to this material they coat the nearby areas with as “rock dust” rather than the carcinogen it is. 

 

2. Particulate Matter

 

CS is not the only thing locals are breathing in. Dust and particles are continuously churned up as a normal part of sand and gravel pit operations. Overall, particulate matter is the largest component of air pollution from the pit. While silica dust is one part of the dust, the rest is made up of other compounds released when the rock is crushed and ground. The particulate matter runs the spectrum between grains as fine as talcum powder, which easily gets absorbed into our lungs, up to the larger particles, which seem to coat everything outside with a dusty cover no one can keep up with. 

 

When the mine is in operation and the grinders are running, depending on how the winds are that day, people living nearby may feel like they are at the beach trying to get the tiny grains of sand out of their mouths. It seems unstoppable. Small particles will find their way through every opening, every tiny crack, and into their houses, their cars, and everything else.

 

The EPA does try to enforce the Clean Air Act when a sand and gravel operation consistently violates it. However, it takes many months and a sizable amount of work by the people being affected to even get the ball rolling.  With thousands of these operations and very limited enforcement staff, many sand and gravel operators are left to self-compliance. 

 

In Barre Town, Vermont, a quarry was denied a permit to operate their rock crusher as the state Environmental Commission monitored it and said it made too much noise and emitted carcinogenic dust into the surrounding areas. For six years the quarry operated the rock crusher in spite of not having a permit to do so. For six years the community and state agency battled with the quarry operators. Finally, the Vermont State Supreme Court told the quarry to shut it down. The quarry closed down the rock crusher but almost immediately started running a new one they installed 3,000 feet away, also with no permit to operate. 

 

3. Noise

 

Conveyors, crushers, and grinders run all day at a pit. If their size warrants it, some have multiple units. Noise levels can easily exceed 100 decibels at times. Rock grinding equipment and dump trucks generate noise levels comparable with a motorcycle or leaf blower running 50 feet away. While there may be some limits on hours that the pits can operate and how loud they can be, constant loud noise can be very unnerving on a body assaulted by it all day. Many times there are noise barriers and buffers set up at the quarry to mitigate some level of the noise; however, they are only so effective at reducing it. Some regulations that regulate noise levels use average daily noise levels, so the noises could be 120 decibels for a few hours but 100 for the rest and still be in compliance. 

 

Almost similar to some other hazards such as airports, the continuous noise will eventually take a toll on the nervous system and entire body. 

 

In San Diego, California, neighbors brace themselves for the weekly explosions at the quarry next to their neighborhood. One time, rocks from the explosion flew through the air and fell on four homes in the nearby neighborhood.The people living in the area say dust coats the insides of their homes and everything else, but despite all that, they find the noise to be the worst part. The noise from the equipment starts up at 7 every morning and runs through the day. 

 

In Antioch, Tennessee, neighbors near the quarry are dealing with more than just the negative effects on them from the noise. They also talk about the cracks in their foundations and walls that blasting at the quarry has caused. Despite ten complaints filed against the quarry in one year’s time, the owner says he is not the cause of the damage. His quarry follows all state guidelines, and the house damage must be environmentally caused. In the meantime, the neighbors wait for the next round of explosives to go off. 

 

4. Truck Traffic

 

Obviously, the sand and gravel needs to be shipped off site. The trucks carrying the materials try to get as much into them as the road weights they travel on allow. Volume is the key to profitability.  A constant flow of trucks entering and leaving with their loads can be expected, as can the traffic they cause on local roads, the dirt and dust from the load inside, and any damage and wear and tear on the roads from the sheer weight of the loaded trucks. Some towns will require that all loaded trucks be covered with a tarp to prevent sand and gravel from blowing out, but they’re the exception. Even in towns like that, nothing, however, will prevent rocks from falling off the trucks as they bump along the road. The diesel fumes the trucks will put out contain the ultra particulates the EPA and WHO label as known carcinogens. 

 

The roads the sand and gravel trucks use are the same roads families and residents travel. They are the ones children walk along to school, and these same roads run through quiet residential areas on the way to and from many of the quarries. 

 

While flying rocks breaking your windshield may not seem like an environmental hazard, the potential for having an accident certainly is worth pointing out. The quarries point out that it may only be 90 trucks a day. That amounts to 20,000 truck trips per year, a not so small number after all. 

 

5. Water Impact

 

There are two types of pits: wet and dry. While all operations need water in the processing, the mine or quarry is referred to as a wet operation or a dry quarry. Some sand and gravel pits are naturally full of water, and materials need to be dredged out. Others are totally above ground and the water table. Either type can lead to water contamination. In many sand and gravel pits, chemicals known as flocculants are added to the sand to remove unwanted minerals and other particles during the washing stage. Then the wastewater is disposed of usually being routed into a nearby one or ditch running away from the pit. Once in the water supply, they are ingested by people. Long term exposure to many of the flocculants used can lead to blood problems, nervous system issues and increase risk of several types of cancer. There are currently no regulations on these chemicals in drinking water to protect you. Gravel as well is usually washed before getting loaded onto trucks for transport to its destination. Any small particles of other minerals or compounds are washed away and drained. 

 

Many gravel and sand deposits are sometimes found in the beds of old rivers and valley floors where the water table is naturally high.  When the mining operations start removing sand and gravel, the pit fills in with water. The sand and gravel are dredged out and run in conveyors to the grinding and crushing equipment. When water is pumped out of the pit, it needs to go someplace, and that usually ends up being any body of water in the nearby area. A small stream could be turned into a small river of water tearing through a farm field down the road from where the pit is emptying out thousands of gallons of water. The addition of all this new water expands present ponds and streams to where they may flood lands they had been on and leave people’s property muddy and under water. 

 

In St. Croix, Wisconsin, a quarry saw its water containment area destroyed after a rainstorm and the resulting torrent of water that escaped into local creeks eroded a berm on the railroad tracks and covered a creek in sediment. Both needed immediate repairs to avoid further damage and flooding. 

 

In some locations the gravel or sand mines may come from hills or the sides of mountains that are blasted with explosives and dug away. Large quantities of water are needed to wash and add to the materials as they run through the conveyors and sorting and crushing equipment. When water is pumped out of the ground to use at the operation to clean sand and gravel and to help movement in the operation, the local water table is also affected. People with wells higher than the level the pit is pumping their water from could be lowered and potentially run dry.

 

On Yacolt Mountain in Washington State, people who have lived in the area for years experienced issues with their wells once a new gravel quarry opened up operations. A retired hearing examiner for the county with knowledge about other similar operations elsewhere fueled concerns about well issues even before the mine was permitted. Now, apparently, blasting into the fractured rock and water withdrawals for the gravel processing has led to wells running low and in some cases, dry. The company denies there are any activities at their quarry which would affect their wells. 

 

In West Rockville, Pennsylvania, 40 homes within a mile of a large gravel mine have had their wells run dry over a four year period. In a six month period, ten of those wells dried up. The quarry denies they are the problem and the state Department of Environmental Protection is backing them up. While the quarry was responsible for a couple of them and reimbursed the property owners to install new wells, the rest, they say, are not their fault, and they will not pay for any other new wells. The quarry does withdraw extensive amounts of water from underground aquifers in the area of their operation. In the meantime, homeowners are dry. 

 

6. Future Restoration

 

In better regulated states, there are legal requirements when the original permit is issued to include plans for closure of the pit. Sometimes, a bond must be posted to ensure this will happen. However, in many places, there is no requirement to do any restoration and the pit is simply abandoned once they are finished with it. When the mine pit fills in with water, they cover up the hazards beneath such as open shafts, old broken machinery, or how deep the area the water may actually be. According to information on the website Geology.com, each year dozens of people die in abandoned open pits and quarries. Drowning is the number one cause of death, followed by ATV accidents. These open pits look like inviting places for recreation, but they have potential to kill people playing in them. 

 

In 2019 in Farmington, Connecticut, a father and son were enjoying a day riding their ATVs around an old quarry. The quarry was abandoned and unused since the 1980]s. Both the father and son were killed when they fell off the edge of the quarry and down 75 feet to its bottom. 

 

Some people blame the company for walking away and leaving the site a dangerous place for people who see it as a place for recreation. Others blame the individuals who get hurt for being in a place they really should not have been. Either way, sand and gravel pits that are not restored create a hazard for the community. 

 

7. Carbon Monoxide and Diesel Exhaust

 

Sand and gravel pits use many pieces of equipment. Conveyors, crushers, grinders, and all the  trucks emit constant flows of carbon monoxide. The levels of this can at times be as high as a well-trafficked roadway. Living near one of these pits, one is bombarded by the constant smell of engines, forced to breathe in high levels of carbon monoxide. Exposure to carbon monoxide can cause headaches, nausea, and vomiting. Long-term low-level exposure may lead to neurological issues including difficulty concentrating, emotional issues, and difficulty breathing. 

 

In South Amherst, Massachusetts, a sand and gravel mine was fined by the EPA for violations to the Clean Air Act. The operation had been cited for emitting excessive particulates into the air surrounding the pit and for creating high levels of carbon monoxide from the equipment exhaust used at the operation. Neighbors in the area were grateful to finally get relief from the health effects of the emissions.

 

Sand and gravel pits are a hazard that have the potential to cause permanent damage to your health. There is no way a sand and gravel operation can be compatible with residential property nearby. Due to the nature of the business, it is impossible to entirely stop all of the particulate matter, especially the CS and the fine particulates, from blowing away. Attempts have been made by operations to continuously spray water onto the piles and over the roads in the pit to hold down the dust. However, that is only effective to a point. 

 

Living near these pits is a hazard and should be avoided as much as possible. If you happen to be in an area where these gravel pits and fracking sand mines are proposed or operating, hopefully you can get the town to propose very strict regulations to at least minimize the extent of damage you are going to inevitably have to endure.