‘Dust from lorries has damaged my eyesight’

Aggregate Industries has a history of failing to control dust – as we have previously posted.  

Last year, we posted about the company’s site in Chelmsford and the complaints about dust. At the time Aggregate Industries said: 

We have taken a number of proactive measures to help alleviate the problem. 

Seemingly those measures have not solved the problem:

'Dust from lorries has damaged my eyesight' https://t.co/PAZtTjEhbN

— BBC East (@BBCLookEast) September 23, 2024

An employee who has quit his job has blamed health problems caused by an ongoing issue of lorries kicking up dust and debris. 

Dave Brown, who was described as "part of the furniture" at New Again Auto Reconditioning in Chelmsford, said his eyesight was "gradually going". 

Gary Wray, owner of the car repair firm in New Street, uploaded a YouTube video to his website, Dusty Chelmsford, pinning the blame on Aggregate Industries, whose lorries are "regularly overloaded with no covers". 

The construction supplies company, which pledged to address the problem last year, said: "[We have] invested in extensive improvements at our Chelmsford site." 

It added that Chelmsford City Council’s environmental health team had visited the site and welcomed the changes that had been made. But it acknowledged there was "still room for improvement". 

Dave Brown said he had been suffering eye irritation caused by the dust.

The website Dusty Chelmsford – A blog about air pollution claims: 

The dust from the Aggregate Industries depot is so thick, it can be seen on this satellite image, discolouring trees and bushes, south and west of the depot. The smudge across the map extends to reach two schools in the area, and that is just the pollution that can be seen from space! 

and asks "Are you a whistleblower?" 

If you have inside information about Aggregate Industries, Holcim Group, or any other information as to why government agencies seem so reluctant to do their jobs, you can contact us in complete confidence.

 

One year later, and still no significant improvement. Local businesses continue to suffer due to @Aggregateuk It’s frustrating to see the same issues persist into 2024. #SupportLocal #BusinessChallenges #TimeForChange pic.twitter.com/YjDVs4XS7Y

— Dusty Chelmsford (@DustyChelmsford) September 9, 2024

Aggregate Industries causes more dust problems

Dust from quarries and construction sites is not only a nuisance – it's a health hazard.

 

Construction workers die every week from lung diseases caused by past exposure to dust. Many more suffer from chronic lung conditions that ruin lives. We have a free download with what you need to know as a busy builder: https://t.co/P56Eap6BMa #Dust #DustKills #Construction pic.twitter.com/CFhnlw7bii

— Health and Safety Executive (@H_S_E) May 19, 2023

 

Aggregate Industries has a history of failing to control dust – as we have previously posted. 

Now the company’s Chelmsford site is in the news:

 

These are two lorries we witnessed when we visited the scene last week - both leaving clouds of dust in their wake. pic.twitter.com/jOqCSSUdAG

— Ellis Whitehouse (@E_Whitehouse293) May 22, 2023

Aggregate Industries claims: 

We have taken a number of proactive measures to help alleviate the problem.

One complainant reported: 

There is just dust all over the place.

We're getting it in our eyes, we're breathing it in, it's going all over the site, everything - it's just phenomenal. 

Chelmsford construction firm promises to address dust problem https://t.co/YCjBz9Vgyy

— BBC Science News (@BBCScienceNews) May 23, 2023

Yet another AI quarry in Devon failing to control dust emissions

Aggregate Industries has a history of failing to control dust. This is apparent not only at its Bardon Hill quarry in Leicestershire, but also at its Westleigh quarry in Devon – as we have previously posted. 

But it turns out another Aggregate Industries quarry in Devon – Moorcroft Quarry in Plymstock near Plymouth – is "causing health worries amongst its neighbours", reports PlymouthLive:

  

Plymouth residents are 'fed up' with the seemingly endless dust, noise and fumes which they say comes from a nearby working quarry. https://t.co/bv3Pf2aBDJ

— Plymouth Live (@Plymouth_Live) April 3, 2021

Councillor Nigel Churchill, who represents the ward where the residents and quarry is situated, said he has had calls about Moorcroft quarry "all year round". 

How can this be? Aggregate Industries claims it’s a responsible company: 

We care about the environment and communities around our sites... 

Has Aggregate Industries given up caring "all year round"? Or was that claim never meant to be taken seriously, no more seriously than this claim:

As a forerunner in its commitment to the sustainability plight, Aggregate Industries continues to apply an increasingly eco-friendly approach to all business areas

One resident said: 

Over the last three or four years the dust and noise has got worse, not to mention the fumes. I've spoken to the manager there I don't know how many times. 

Another:

 … as for the dust - it's hardly worth cleaning the car or the windows because as soon as you do, 12 hours later there's a thick layer on them…. There's definitely been an increase in the amount of noise and dust in recent years.

Yet another: 

I've been complaining for ages about the smell and noise. They say the dust levels are within the limits but when you look at your car windows each day, covered in it, your letter box has got a thick layer, your outdoor table is thick with it - you wonder what is happening to your lungs. 

They say they have water bowsers to damp down the large heaps of dust but I question as to whether they are using them. I've got neighbours around me who have complained about suffering from the dust, some of them have asthma. There's others who have contracted lung cancer who have never smoked. I can't say it's related - but I want to know what it is we're breathing in every day and what can it do to us? That's the biggest thing, more than anything - what is it doing to our health? 

A spokesperson at Aggregate Industries is quoted as saying: 

We are currently looking into some recent complaints in relation to our Moorcroft Quarry. As a responsible supplier within the area, we take all complaints very seriously and have therefore launched an investigation into this. We will look to deploy mitigation measures if necessary, to ensure we can reduce any future disruptions to the local community. 

In 2007, Plymouth City Council reckoned Moorcroft "has about 50 years of permitted reserves".

In the same year, Aggregate Industries crowed: 

No other quarry of our 87 across the UK needs to have active and effective community engagement more than Moorcroft. 

"In our situation we wouldn’t be here if we didn’t listen to our neighbours. Community engagement is a long process of talking, listening and presenting a known face. Even if it’s bad news, we tell them because, if we don’t, they’ll just make up their own stories."

So how’s that going, Aggregate Industries? Are local residents just making up their own stories?

AI’s Westleigh application to be decided next week

Aggregate Industries' Westleigh Quarry near Burlescombe is currently the subject of planning application DCC/4007/2017 to vary the approved working scheme to extract an additional 600,000 tonnes. The application will come before DCC’s DMC committee next week.

We have made various posts concerning Westleigh this year, including how AI has been failing to control dust emissions.

Readers will see how DCC has addressed such issues in the officer's report that recommends approval of this application.

Objections to the application related to:

4.3 Of the objections, the principal areas of concern were: impact of HGV movements through Burlescombe, especially at during school drop off times; safety of the school children; the condition of the road due to HGV movements; speed, queuing and convoys of HGVs; emissions from HGVs impacting health; structural damage to listed bridges; volume of traffic increasing; structural damage to buildings due to blasting; amenity impact of vibration from blasting; increase in dust; protection of the amenity of houses adjacent to the application site; the quarry currently operating outside permitted hours; loss of existing landscape planting; value of the biodiversity in the area proposed for extraction; issues with the existing water diversion scheme; adequate existing reserves in other areas of the quarry; suitability of the proposed action plans and monitoring regimes for vibration, dust and noise; time required for replacement planting to mature; out of date information supplied; existing issues unresolved with regard to noise and blasting, spillages on the highway, movements of HGVs during day and night, and pre-emptive vegetation clearance work.

On the issue of dust:

6.43 It is acknowledged that there have been a number of dust complaints over the last seven months, which resulted in an investigation that required further dust assessments and consultation with Public Health England regarding the monitoring results. Meetings were held with the quarry operator and revised dust suppression measures were implemented which improved matters. The latest results from dust monitoring from May 2018 have yet to be released, although anecdotal information has been supplied which suggested that the situation had greatly improved.

6.44 It is considered that the existing control measures are ensuring that any residual impact is adequately mitigated. However, the existing monitoring scheme has been reviewed, amended and incorporated into a more comprehensive environmental scheme. This latter scheme also includes measures to identify, control and mitigate the effects of noise and blasting. The current planning consent did not require monitoring schemes for either of these impacts and therefore the approval of this current application would provide betterment in this regard. Further to this, given that future operations at Rocknell will not extend any closer to the present nearest privately-owned residential properties it is concluded the impacts of dust, groundborne vibration and air overpressure can be suitably controlled to within the limits specified by the attached scheme.

6.45 Aside from the complaints, it must be acknowledged that the approving this application is likely to increase controls in terms of dust and vibration. Given the above although dust is an ongoing concern, it would be unreasonable to refuse the application on based potential dust impacts associated with this application.

AI made allowances for school children at Burlescombe too; how’s that working out?

Aggregate Industries’ proposed site access for its Straitgate Farm quarry proposal and its 44-tonne HGVs is exactly where children stand waiting for school buses.

An alternative proposal eliminating pedestrian and HGV conflict, put forward by traffic consultants working on behalf of the local community, has apparently been dismissed by both AI and DCC.

MP Sir Hugo Swire has recently warned DCC that "road safety and the transport of children is causing me real concern". DCC’s response was that:

My officers have been discussing details of the proposal with the school travel team and have suggested to the applicant ways in which this might be resolved to ensure that the proposal does not increase the danger to children who are picked up or dropped off at this point.

It might, for example, be agreed that AI would restrict HGV movements to outside the times the lane is used by schoolchildren.

Sounds fantastic, except it wouldn’t work. With a haul route that’s 46 miles long, it would be impossible to restrict HGVs from turning up inside restricted times. Where would they wait, having arrived at the wrong time? On the A30? On the Daisymount junction?

But ignoring that, has AI has made a success of similar promises elsewhere? Of course not.

HGV movement restrictions were agreed between Burlescombe Primary School and AI for its Westleigh Quarry. Burlescombe Parish Council has recently objected to AI’s application to extract an additional 600,000 tonnes at Westleigh Quarry, making these comments regarding the school:

3) We would also like to point out the negative effects the Quarry HGV’s are having on Burlescombe Primary School: a. They have effectively stunted the growth of the school due to parents concerns over the safety of their children wholly generated by lorry movements past the school at all times of the day. b. There had been a verbal agreement with the previous head teacher concerning lorry movement restrictions (an agreement to stop and wait) within school drop-off and pick-up times (not always upheld). We would request that this agreement is formalised.

c) SS: 7.8 to 7.19 — Whilst accepting that the current proposal remains within the current permissions, a majority of residents who have voiced their opinions in Open Forum’s or online to the Council feel strongly that the rules are continuously broken — lorries travelling through Burlescombe in convoy, within restricted times around school drop-off and pick-up times, in excess of the speed limits, and un-sheeted. We request that no permission is granted to this application until an alternative route to the one through Burlescombe Village is reexamined fully.

In other words, even when the quarry is less than a mile away – trucks still turn up during restricted times.

A villager made this video in 2014 to show the impact of HGVs on children and the primary school. The included text speaks for itself:

This is the true plight of a village being trampled on by a multi national conglomerate with the backing of the district council taken over 8 years ago the lorry movement within the village has got significantly worse. This video demonstrates the shocking way in which a small village community have to live in fear of taking their children safely to school. how their local environment is polluted with noise and dust to the extent that washing cannot be hung out without becoming soiled, fish ponds have become polluted and murky no matter how good a filtration system, in the summer windows cannot be left open at night for fresh air because of the noise and vibrations our roads are now cracking up under the constant thunder of these vehicles and of course our children's primary school is right next to this road which is constantly under a dust cloud which our children are breathing in It appears that the DCC planners only duty of care involved here is making sure the quarry makes another pound at the cost of the ever diminishing quality of life to the local residents of Burlescombe and now they want to increase it more by building a hot tarmac silo so that they can run all night when ever it suits them. WE KNOW THE QUARRY LIE E.G working below the water table, contravening the 106 clause. THEY ALWAYS HAVE THEY ALWAYS WILL THEY ALWAYS OFFER VOLUNTARY ASSURANCES TO PLACATE BUT NEVER STICK TO THEIR WORD. SO WHY SHOULD WE BELIEVE THAT THEY WOULD STICK TO A VOLUNTARY RESTRICTION

AI’s bully-boy tactics

Threatening tenants with eviction in order to get its own way is obviously part of Aggregate Industries' toolbox of bully-boy tactics.

You might think we’re talking about Straitgate Farm, and AI threatening a young family and their children with eviction from their home and their livelihood.

But no. This is to do with AI’s Westleigh Quarry, near Burlescombe.

AI’s dust problems at Westleigh have been getting worse this year. It’s embarrassing for AI, because it comes at a time when the company is trying to win permission to extract another 600,000 tonnes. We’ve posted about this before, how:

Objections to application DCC/4007/2017 to vary the working scheme at Westleigh Quarry tell a story of dust inside and outside homes, of noise, of blasting vibration, of HGV problems on unsuitable roads, of damage to roads going un-repaired, of rules continuously being broken, of a complaints system that doesn't work, even of a "Section 106 condition from the 1997 Application [that] remains unfulfilled".

So, does AI put in additional measures to control the dust and air quality to acceptable standards?

No. Based on this letter, which followed "telephone conversations last week with both Aggregate Industries and Mr Kevin Gough from Advance Environmental", AI puts the blame on DCC planning conditions and threatens a nearby tenant with eviction instead:

I am advised that it may be necessary for notice to be given to terminate my tenancy as the company would not be able to meet the conditions set.

What a lovely company to have working in the community.

AI has been failing to control dust emissions

Aggregate Industries is confident it can control the dust arising from any quarry operation at Straitgate:

The potential for fugitive dust emissions from the proposed excavation of sand and gravel at Straitgate Farm is minimal...

It’s a pretty meaningless statement; satisfying a tick-box exercise, using an off-the-shelf report, the bulk of which has been wheeled out countless times before.

But for all the rhetoric, AI has been failing to control dust emissions from its quarries this summer, not just at its Bardon Hill "super quarry" in Leicestershire, but also at Westleigh Quarry in Devon.

Westleigh is currently the subject of a planning application to vary the approved working scheme to extract an additional 600,000 tonnes; we posted about this in May, how:

Objections to application DCC/4007/2017 to vary the working scheme at Westleigh Quarry tell a story of dust inside and outside homes, of noise, of blasting vibration, of HGV problems on unsuitable roads, of damage to roads going un-repaired, of rules continuously being broken, of a complaints system that doesn't work, even of a "Section 106 condition from the 1997 Application [that] remains unfulfilled".

Since then, AI’s dust problems at Westleigh have got worse. That’s embarrassing for AI, at a time when the company is trying to win permission for another 600,000 tonnes. AI’s dust consultants were wheeled in again, but they couldn’t use an off-the-shelf response this time, reckoning that:

As you are aware, after conclusion of the monitoring, complaints were received regarding high levels of dust deposition at residential properties in Westleigh Village. This corresponded with the extensive period of hot and dry weather combined with northerly winds creating uncharacteristic conditions for this time of year. It has been acknowledged that fugitive emissions from the quarry were responsible and this resulted in action being taken by the quarry to implement additional dust mitigation measures.

Bravo. But no apology, of course, for the health impact on local residents.

Since then, Public Health England has responded to new information provided for the application:

We note that due to the increasing number of dust complaints relating to the quarry since May 2018, the applicant has undertaken further dust monitoring, which remains ongoing. In addition, improved dust control measures have been incorporated into the site management plans to mitigate fugitive emissions of dust off-site.

We recommend that the Local Authority should ensure that the enhanced dust control measures are adequate prior to issuing any planning permission.

Is this any way to treat ‘one of the most important conservation sites in Europe’?

Designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest, a Special Area of Conservation and a Special Protection Area, this area represents one of the most important conservation sites in Europe.

And yet these photographs show just what's happening on the East Devon Pebblebed Heaths. You would never know that Aggregate Industries had already been paid millions of pounds of public money to stop quarrying on the Common. Operations like this - especially without any adjoining active quarry to justify a continued presence - have no place in such important areas for nature, locals and visitors alike.

Why did DCC ever think that repeatedly allowing AI to carry on operating here was a good idea?

Why are mineral workers warned of the dangers of RCS but not local residents?

Respirable Crystalline Silica is invisibly fine dust generated when quarrying and processing sand and gravel. Aggregate Industries' staff at Blackhill Quarry are warned of its dangers, as are at-risk workers elsewhere.

Report on Carcinogens by the US Health Department warns "Residents near quarries and sand and gravel operations potentially are exposed to respirable crystalline silica." Another report concludes "In our study, there seems to be a risk also in groups exposed to lower levels [of respirable quartz]. There is no consensus how low an acceptable risk level ought to be."

The deposits of sand and gravel at Straitgate are made of quartzite - a crystalline form of silicon dioxide or silica. Respirable Crystalline Silica (RCS) is angular Particulate Matter less than 10μm in size (PM10) that can enter the lungs. The quarrying sector is a major producer of PM10. The Health Protection Agency advises "The distance travelled by dust emissions will depend on the particle size and on the wind speed and turbulence. Smaller dust particles will stay airborne for longer and disperse over a wider area. Strong and turbulent winds will also keep larger particles airborne for longer. Data reported from quarries indicated that the courser dust particles (>30μm) are mainly deposited within 100m of the source, intermediate particles (10-30μm) between 250 and 500m, while fine particles (<10μm) can travel up to 1 km (DoE, 1995a,b). Ultrafine particles (<2.5μm) would be expected to travel considerably further." 

RCS can be generated a number of ways (not just from processing). "Inhaling finely divided crystalline silica dust in very small quantities over time can lead to silicosis, bronchitis, or cancer, as the dust becomes lodged in the lungs and continuously irritates them, reducing lung capacities. (In the body crystalline silica particles do not dissolve over clinically relevant periods of time.) Children, asthmatics of any age, allergy sufferers, and the elderly (all of whom have reduced lung capacity) can be affected in much less time." In its most common form, chronic silicosis "Usually [results] from long-term exposure (10 years or more) to relatively low concentrations of silica dust and usually appearing 10–30 years after first exposure."

The American Lung Association writes "...public concern may be raised about potential health effects from brief exposure to airborne silica or residence in locations where prevailing winds carry silica particles from natural or industrial sites. There is little evidence to suggest that brief or casual exposure [would living near a quarry be "brief or casual"?] to low levels of crystalline silica dust produces clinically significant lung disease or other adverse health effects. Chronic simple silicosis has, however, been described after environmental exposures to silica in regions where soil silica content is high and dust storms are common."

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) advises (guidance sheets QY0 and QY2) "All RCS is hazardous". "Tell workers: that very fine quarry dust can cause silicosis, which leads to disablement and early death". The HSE adds, with regard to construction sites, "In 2006, the workplace exposure limit for RCS was reduced to 100μg/m3 and there is pressure to lower it further to 50μg/m3 as epidemiological data suggest there is no known level of exposure at which silicosis does not occur." "Whilst we are able to estimate the exposure to RCS of an individual at work from past data, little is known about the inadvertent exposure of people who are close to but not involved in the work activity". HSE measurements did however "indicate the migration of silica across sites and potentially beyond the site boundaries". As far as recorded cases go, the HSE maintains "No cases of silicosis have been documented among members of the general public in Great Britain, indicating that environmental exposures to silica dust are not sufficiently high to cause this occupational disease". However "It should also be noted that excessive long term exposures to almost any dust, are likely to lead to respiratory (breathing) problems." HSE's American equivalent, the OSHA, warns "If it’s silica, it’s not just dust".

Aggregate Industries warns about RCS, but what warnings has DCC given? Well, no mention at all of RCS. Its Sustainability Appraisal did warn "Due to a changing climate there is the potential for the impact of noise and dust on sensitive receptors to become more intense. Hotter summers will provide conditions that will produce additional dust, and people will spend more time outdoors and leave the windows of dwellings and workplaces open for longer." "There is likely to be a negative impact upon the well-being and health of the residents at Straitgate Farm. This impact, combined with those likely for low to medium sensitive properties in the vicinity, would lead to a significant negative impact during the working of minerals". Its recommendation? "Policy relating to dust could encourage screening measures and dust control/mitigation". In its current Minerals Plan DCC "...will consider the practicality and the cost of methods of environmental control such as the spraying of materials with water at suitable stages in their handling and transport, the watering of areas of the site regularly used by vehicles and the use of dust extractors." Are the phrases "could encourage" and "consider the practicality and the cost" enough? RCS is carcinogenic. Cllr. John Hart, Leader of DCC, reiterated recently "you have to extract minerals from where they were deposited" - but to the detriment of human health? DCC's slogan is, after all, "improving life for all".

How much protection would residents expect from this carcinogenic dust source? Planning4Minerals (P4M) stresses that "Prevention of dust generation is critical [for example by working the mineral wet and damping internal haul roads] - once in the open air ...the operator will have little or no control over where [dust] settling occurs." P4M expects the "use of buffer zones to isolate dust sources from surrounding communities, often incorporated into local planning policy, with distances of 250-500m typically adopted, unless there are unusual or exceptional reasons to permit a variation." However, one study "monitored silica concentrations ...near a sand and gravel facility in Central California" and found "the impact from this source was still evident, even at the furthest downwind monitor - 745 meters away". The Technical Guidance to the NPPF says "A dust assessment study should be undertaken..." and "...additional measures to control PM10 might be necessary if, within a site, the actual source of emission (e.g. the haul roads, crushers, stockpiles etc.) is within 1,000m of any residential property or other sensitive use". Dust monitoring would form part of the planning conditions for any new quarry, but the "definition of standards for dust is a particularly complex issue...there are no agreed standards or guidelines for the nuisance impacts of mineral dusts in the UK." However The Air Quality Regulations 1997 do set a statutory objective for PM10 of 50μg/m3 or less, and the Environment Agency stipulates a maximum RCS level of 0.6μg/m3 around waste sites.

So, what are the benefits for a community newly saddled with this risk of airborne carcinogenic dust? DCC says "Mineral working at an individual site may take place over a number of decades and, while this timescale may seem a burden on local communities, it does offer the opportunity to develop strong working relationships between community and mineral operator [wow, thanks!] (as well as providing a source of local employment)." Blackhill Quarry currently employs nine. What about "the Aggregate Levy Sustainability Fund for projects in communities that are affected by aggregates extraction"? Scrapped in 2011.