Dubai: The Ministry of Environment and Water has ordered a stone-crushing unit in Fujairah to cease operations in view of high levels of particulate matter it was releasing into the atmosphere.
Inspections made by the ministry's quarries and crushers technical team in Masafi revealed that no maintenance work had been carried out at the quarry for a long time. The ministry's reports said that the unit had already attracted four fines between July 2010 and September 2010 over pollution concerns.
The fines were issued taking into account the emission of excessive amounts of dust and sand into the atmosphere during the crusher's operation mainly due to a lack of proper maintenance.
A Ministry of Environment spokesman said the quarry's pollution was in violation of Federal Law Number 24 of 1999 and Ministerial Resolution Number 110 of 2008, which was issued in February last year.
The Fujairah Natural Resources Authority had also ordered the quarry's owners to cease operations until the necessary maintenance ordered by the ministry had been carried out.
The Authority said it would ensure due procedures were complied with by conducting field inspection visits.
The ministry said it consistently monitored all work carried out by stone-crushing units and their daily output besides the equipment and systems used to control dust and sound pollution at such plants. The ministry said it also checked on measures employers took to ensure the health and safety of their workers.
