Seismic testing brings booms to Grayson County

DORCHESTER, Texas (KXII) - Residents from Gunter to Sherman may hear unfamiliar sounds this week as seismic testing continues through Friday afternoon.

Geoscientists from the University of Texas drilled into limestone bedrock and are creating explosions to test how a proposed cement kiln in Dorchester could impact Sherman’s chip and wafer manufacturing plants.

“People heard a little booms. That was the first sign,” said Josh Marr, Grayson County commissioner for Precinct 1.

The testing will track how vibrations from the proposed cement kiln would affect Sherman’s semiconductor manufacturing plants, including Global Wafers and TI.

“They’ll put some sensors down there and some explosives and get a seismic testing, seeing how that ripple effect goes,” Marr said.

Plants like Global Wafers are anchored into the ground, making vibration measurements critical.

“If you’re digging in that bedrock, it’s going to cause vibrations. And they want to test, okay, are these vibrations how far or how close?” Marr said.

The goal is to find a balance between the two industries.

“Where is that good buffer at that both these industries can do what they need to do to provide the economic benefit to the community, but also not interfere with each other to where they’re both detrimental to each other,” Marr said.

Some residents have not yet felt the testing.

“We haven’t felt anything yet, but being as close to it as we are, I have no doubt that we’re going to,” said Zach Poling, a Dorchester resident.

For Poling, the concerns extend beyond the manufacturing plants.

“Shaking and the pollution,” Poling said. “There’s better places that you can find limestone to quarry out of the ground than right here in the middle of civilization.”

Poling said he will review the study as soon as it is released.

“As soon as that study comes out, we’re going to be all over it, seeing what it reveals,” Poling said.

As part of Senate Bill 1758, the data collected by geoscientists from the University of Texas will be analyzed before a decision for the kiln is made.