The unquenchable demand for rock materials has attracted many companies
within the building and construction sector to invest in stone quarrying.
However, this has brought about environmental impacts with health threats to
people. There is a paucity of information about the magnitude of pollution on
air and water and how it varies with quarry sites. This study, therefore,
investigated the physical impacts of quarrying on air and water and explored
the in-situ mitigations to undesirable effects due to stone quarrying.
Four active quarry sites were identified. Field measurements of dust
(particulate matter) were conducted within the four quarry sites and in the
nearby community. Water samples were collected from quarry pits and nearby
shallow wells for laboratory analysis of water quality. Statistical Analysis of
Variance (ANOVA) was used to test for differences in pollution across the four
studied sites. Results revealed that, amidst the use of wet crushing and water
sprinkling on bare surfaces, dust emission was higher than the recommended
permissible standards levels with a significant variation across the quarry
sites with ANOVA (P-value = 0.003)
for PM 2.5 and (P-value = 0.04366)
for PM 10. Water pollution was mainly contributed by the non-permissive levels
of nitrates, chromium, and pH. Polluted air and water are associated with
sparking off health threats to the users in the community. In conclusion,
quarry companies should strengthen the already existing mitigation of dust
suppression. The study recommends additional measures such as treating quarry
pit water before discharging to the open environment to enhance environmental
protection against the accumulating undesirable quarry impacts.
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