TUNKHANNOCK, Pa. — State environmental regulators could use Tunkhannock as a case study to measure how facilities that handle hydraulic fracturing sand affect air quality. The Department of Environmental Protection has never before sampled the air for silica sand near a transfer facility like the one D&I Silica LLC proposes near the intersection of Route 6 and Route 92 in Tunkhannock, spokeswoman Colleen Connolly said. D&I, a subsidiary of Hi-Crush Partners LP, ships fine quartz sand of uniform size from its mine in Wyeville, Wisconsin, to shale oil and gas basins all over the U.S., including the Marcellus. Fracking companies call the sand a “proppant� because they use it to prop open tiny cracks they split in the shale, creating a pathway that allows trapped oil and gas to escape. Wells in Susquehanna and Wyoming counties use between 5 million and 13 million pounds of sand each. Workers who breathe the fine-grained dust day after day risk developing “silicosis� or, eventually, lung cancer, pulmonary tuberculosis and other airway diseases, according to agencies such as the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and the National Toxicology Program. Grains of dust can lodge in lung tissue, causing inflammation and cell proliferation, according to the National Toxicology Program's carcinogen profile of the substance. Workers face the greatest exposure risk, but “residents near quarries and sand and gravel operations potentially are exposed to respirable crystalline silica,� the report states. These health concerns have turned the proposed transfer facility into a flashpoint in the Tunkhannock area since D&I unveiled its plans early this year. In July, the county planning commission voted 4-2 not to allow it. D&I then sued the county, which settled in early November. Tunkhannock resident and small business owner Eileen Barziloski has emerged as a leader of residents worried about the plant. In October, she donned a bright yellow canary suit for a commissioners' meeting to raise awareness. “I don't care that the industry's here, though everybody thinks I'm an antifracker,� she said. “You can have what you want, but not at the expense of people's health. I have asthma — that's what really spurred this whole thing for me.� Now, after months of pressure by locals, the DEP proposes using air monitors and meteorological equipment to sample the local air before and after the transfer plant begins operations, according to a mid-November letter DEP's statewide Bureau of Air Quality director Joyce Epps wrote to Tunkhannock Borough Council. The DEP plans to measure airborne fine particles 2.5 micrometers in diameter — 30 times smaller than the diameter of a human hair. For the first time, they'll also measure 4-micrometer particles, a size chosen specifically for crystalline silica. To come up with their study, DEP officials recently spoke with their counterparts in Minnesota, a state full of silica mines, and John Richards, Ph.D., co-developer of a technique to measure fine silica particles, the letter states. One potential snag in the DEP's plans is a proposal by residents and the county to hire an air quality scientist from Queensbury, New York, to do his own study. Timothy McAuley, Ph.D., has proposed a four-phase air quality that goes further in its sampling than DEP's study. In the first phase, he would create a map of local air patterns to find areas of high risk from silica, hazardous air pollutants and truck emissions, according to a proposal sent to commissioners the same week as the DEP's letter. Monitoring would continue after D&I starts operations. Sometime after summer 2016, Dr. McAuley would draft a final report on air quality and human health risks. At a November meeting with commissioners, Dr. McAuley quoted a cost of $45,000 for the first phase, with a total estimated cost of $130,000. The DEP does not want to repeat his work, Ms. Connolly said. “We don't want to spend taxpayers' money on studies that in the end could turn out to be duplicates,� she said. Tunkhannock borough council president Stacy Huber said they asked DEP to do the study before they knew about Dr. McAuley's proposal. “They're the government representative in this matter,� he said. “That's their job ... and I think we should let them do their job.� Commissioner Tom Henry said county officials plan to meet with Dr. McAuley and the DEP to discuss plans. He hopes they can work together on complementary studies that, combined, will create a better understanding of the local air quality. “I didn't want in any way shape or form to overlook (the DEP),� he said. “I wanted them to be just as big a part of this as they could be. They don't always have the people of the county's support, and I think this is a good step.� Ms. Barziloski prefers Dr. McAuley's proposal because it would lead to detailed knowledge about local air quality, which can vary considerably in the knobby hills and valleys of the Endless Mountains. “What this will do is help identify where the high impacts are,� she said. “It'll be such a good resource for (the DEP) going forward.� Whoever does the testing, their results could be useful for the Lackawanna Valley, which hosts at least two active silica sand transfer facilities - one in Taylor and another in the Pittston area. The transfer facility at Taylor Yards has never been an issue, Taylor council president Ken Mickavicz said. “We've never had one complaint about it,� he said. Some residents complained about traffic and road damage at the Pittston area facility about five years ago, Pittston Mayor Jason Klush said, but he hasn't heard anything lately.