Quarries will be shifted from residential areas in UAE

Dubai: All quarries across the northern emirates will eventually be closed and relocated due to their proximity to residential areas, schools and hospitals, said a top environment official.

The new locations of the quarries have not yet been defined as environmental impact assessments need to be carried out to find the least damaging location to the environment and health, said Hamad Al Matroushi, environmental impact assessment officer at the Federal Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi.

Children suffering

Three quarries were closed this week in Fujairah, he said. "They will be relocated because it is against the law."

"We are studying the new locations according to Federal law 24 for 1999 that states that an environmental impact assessment should be done prior to mining in that place," said Al Matroushi.

Parents in Ras Al Khaimah previously told Gulf News their children were suffering from asthma which they believed to be caused by the dust and how date palm gardens were growing in cement beds as the soil had been damaged from the quarry dust.

There are two issues concerning quarries said Al Matroushi. Firstly they should be registered as being industrial areas and secondly no one should be living there.

"But this is not the case and industrial areas are not marked," he said.

"In different emirates the government immediately restricts permits for building homes near industrial areas. Getting authorisation is complicated but this is not the case in Fujairah and Ras Al Khaimah."

He said it was difficult to state which came first, the quarry or the residential areas. An integrated assessment of the new areas with potential for quarrying is under study he said. Gulf News earlier reported the closure of quarries by the Minister of Environment and Water Dr Rashid Ahmad Bin Fahd after he found antiquated equipment to be in violation of environmental standards.

Some quarries are found to pay no attention to health standards and some companies have no equipment to limit dust emissions.

An environmental expert is currently gathering information on the quarries' equipment, daily production and proximity to residential areas, as well as information on the air during peak production hours.

According to the World Wildlife Fund the quarrying and cement industries are estimated to provide up to 23 million tonnes of cement per year within the next few years.