"Winona will be the first U.S. city to monitor pollution from trucks hauling frac sand en route to fracking operations."

"A college town in southern Minnesota is taking action against the frac sand industry that's booming amid America's drilling revolution.

Winona, Minn. will become the first local government in the nation to monitor air pollution that may be escaping from mounds of sand being trucked through town for delivery to fracking fields in North Dakota and elsewhere.

The move puts the city of 28,000 people at the forefront of initial efforts to address the health effects of silica sand, an ingredient used in fracking that has been linked to lung disease. It is part of a larger trend to understand the various impacts of natural gas and oil development on communities."

Zahra Hirji reports for InsideClimate News November 11, 2013. [2]