Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, has been in the news for both good and not-so-good reasons the last few years. On the one hand, it has been trashed by the press for claims of polluting ground water and being dangerous for air quality in certain parts of the country. on the other hand, the technology has opened up tremendously large new reserves of oil and gas that has made the U.S. a top oil producer  again, like it was in the middle of the last century – and this while on very limited private property lands.

[Image courtesy of Flickr user Victoria Buchan-Dyer via a Creative Commons license]

[Image courtesy of Flickr user Victoria Buchan-Dyer via a Creative Commons license]

Fracking is a dangerous way to get oil and gas out of the ground, but some of the issues are overblown. However, as with any oil or gas production, there are always risks to worker safety and health in the area of a well. And that is where much of the innovation in the industry has been focused lately – finding new ways to make the process safer for the workers so the well sites can be more efficient and productive.

One of the big risks to workers is silica dust, which is prevalent on oil and gas sites where sand-moving equipment and machines are used. As we all know, sand is silica, and often when sand is moved around, dust gets kicked up into the air. This silica dust, if inhaled in large concentrations or over an extended period of time, can cause a dangerous and irreversible lung disease called silicosis. The challenge at these sies is finding a way to corral this silica dust and contain it, keeping it out of the air and away from workers.

The latest attempt to rectify this issue was recently announced by researchers at NIOSH, which produced a prototype for a third-generation miniature baghouse, which is designed to collect the silica dust that is stirred up by sand movers. This new equipment has only bee in the prototype stage and is currently seeking some commercial investment and development for the market, but a recent NIOSH study of the benefits of this mini-baghouse design showed that it reduced the amount of airborne silica dust by at least 80 percent and as much as 99 percent in some areas.

If this can make it into the market, it can change the game in terms of health and safety on oil and gas extraction sites in keeping workers safer, healthier, and thus more productive – which in turn make the sites themselves more productive and can improve the company’s bottom line.