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Environmental Impact Assessment of a typical Stone Crushing Plant

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Environmental Impact Assessment of a typical Stone Crushing

Plant

MUHAMMAD ANEES
Department of Environmental Sciences,
The University of Haripur, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

WISAL SHAH
Department of Environmental Sciences,
The University of Haripur, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Email: shahwisal@yahoo.com

ESSA KHAN
Environmental Protection Agency, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.

Abstract
Stone crushing and quarrying activities have a significant impact on both human health and environmental
quality. The current study was carried out to evaluate the environmental impacts of different stone crushing
and quarrying facilities operating in different areas of Abbottabad region in Pakistan. The study was built
around fieldwork, broad observations, a questionnaire, and an experiment. A decrease in agricultural
productivity, a loss of local biodiversity, land degradation, the creation of unproductive wastelands,
deterioration in the quality of the water, accidents, socio-economic conflicts, and serious health risks to
those living nearby are all observed. These effects are serious in terms of dust, noise, and water pollution.
The local administration of these units operating in the area makes no attempt to reduce harmful effects on
the environment and public health. The current study aims to propose a suitable environmental
management plan for stone crushing plants for both possible and potential environmental impacts.

Keywords: Stone Crushing, Air Quality, Water Quality, Noise Pollution.

Introduction

The need for Stone Crushing Units is expanding throughout the nation in direct proportion to the expansion
of the Real Estate and Construction Sector, which is a reflection of stronger economic growth and rising
consumption. The building and engineering businesses, builders, and contractors with active projects in
highly populated cities like Karachi, Lahore, Multan, Faisalabad, Abbottabad, Haripur, Peshawar, and
Quetta therefore represent a possible target market for the proposed Stone Crushing setup. Massive
environmental resource exploitation has recently occurred and is still happening now in order to satisfy the
population's growing need. The gradual degradation of the biosphere's ability to protect the environment
has become one of the major problems of our day. The impact of various human activities directly and
indirectly affects the environment. Stone crushing and quarrying is one of these activities. The production
of crushed stone, which is used as a raw material for various construction applications, is a major socio-
economic sector that includes quarrying and crushed stone, but is also a global concern.

The production of stones of various sizes according to demand, which serve as the raw material for various
construction activities such as the construction of roads, highways, bridges, buildings, and canals, among
other things, is carried out by stone crushing units, an important industrial sector in the nation. Because the
majority of the personnel employed there are from rural and economically underdeveloped areas where

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employment opportunities are scarce, stone crushing units have greater significance in terms of national
development. It is a source of income for illiterate, poor and unskilled rural residents. These rock crushers
are a socio-economically important sector, but they emit a large amount of fine dust that poses a health
hazard not only to the workers working in the rock crushing unit, but also to those living in the vicinity of
the crushing unit. It also affects agricultural activities.

Presently raw material exists abundantly in Haripur for the establishment of crushing unit. The issues
related to stone crushing units were ignored due to which sustainable use of the existing resources is not
possible which leads to the loss of resources for current generations as well as future generations. The issue
can be sort out if human beings pay attention to existing resources with wise utilization which simply called
sustainable development. The EIA/IEE process is legal provision of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Environmental
Protection Act, 2014 and EIA/IEE Regulations 2000. The pollution arises from any development activity is
directly related to the site allocation, types of equipment, use of equipment, the process involve in the
production and the capacity building of the workers. The details of the project related to site and production
process is as under.

Materials and Methods

This study is based on both primary and secondary data collection sources, including field studies, general
observations, questionnaires, interviews, and laboratory experiments. Secondary sources are books and
magazines. Field surveys and general observations were conducted to assess the effects of dust exposure on
the environment, local flora and crops. A questionnaire method was utilized to determine the impact of dust
and noise pollution on workers and nearby locals. Interviews were performed with around 50 randomly
selected respondents. Local people, housewives, employees, workers, and students are among those who
responded. Two different surveys with questions about various characteristics of dust and noise pollution
were created. Questions were posed to respondents, their responses were recorded, and then the percentage
was determined. Noise level in stone crushing plants were measured by noise meter.

FEEDING JAW SYNDICATOR

HOPPER CRUSHERS

CONVEYER BELT SECREEN

Figure 1: Shows Process flow Diagram of a typical Crush Plant

List of machinery and its salient feature for the stone crushing unit which are used in the project during
operational phase are given below: The table shows the required machinery and its quantity which will be
used in the stone crushing plant is given below (table 1):

Table 1: Details of Machinery used in stone crushing plant

S. No Name of Equipment Function of Equipment
1 Feeding Hopper The function of the hopper is that it collects the raw material and
provide required size stone to the Jaw crusher such that big
pieces of raw materials into smaller one.
2 Jaw Crusher Jaw Crusher is a large machine used to crush the pieces of raw
material comes from the Feeder Hopper. It crushes the raw
material received from the Feeder hopper into small pieces. The
normal range of the Capacity of jaw crusher is 18*36 mouths
open. At the proposed site there will be Two Jaw Crusher
installed.

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3 Conveyor Belt Conveyor Belt is a moving belt from one machine to another
used to transport the material to required destination. Total
length of the conveyor belt is approximately 200 meters. A large
number of conveyor belts of different lengths and measurements
will be used in this crush plan.
4 Screeners Primary Screen use to remove the mud from stone and collect
through Conveyor Belt, further two products can available here
on the demand as use in road construction such as Aggregate
and water powder. Secondary Screen use to collect different size
products such as down (20- 25mm), half (10-20mm), pane (5-
10mm) and stone dust (0-5mm). At the proposed project site
there will be a screener installed.
5 Impactor An impactor is a secondary crusher and basically its function is
to make sand from the hard rock’s like lime stone, gypsum and
sand stones etc. An Impactor will also be installed at the crush
plant.
6 Loader Loader is used to transport giant pieces of stone from quarry to
Feeder Hopper
7 Excavator Excavator use for excavation process of stone at the project site
and other location as required at the operational site

Results and Discussion

This section outlines the probable environmental and social effects of the planned activity, calculates their
magnitude, evaluates their importance, and suggests mitigating actions to lessen any negative effects.
Likewise, list the project's residual effects. The nature and importance of the consequences will also rely on
the scope and magnitude of the project's numerous operations as well as the environmental protection
strategies employed to prevent or reduce pollution brought on by those activities and Impact evaluation
technique.

Possible Impact
Several impacts may occur as a result of the construction (including front end) and operation of the project.
Such effects may be direct, indirect or final. For the purposes of this IEE, these potential impacts (whether
direct, indirect, or final) are assessed based on their magnitude (short-term or long-term) and impact
(positive or negative). The impact can also be divided into three categories: the impact of business location,
the impact of business construction, and the impact of business operation. All potentially significant
environmental impacts of the project are summarized below:

Environmental impacts during the operational phase

Ambient Air Quality

Potential impacts on ambient air quality include:

 Generator emissions

Typical generators are estimated to emit nitrogen oxides (NOx) per megawatt-hour of electricity
generated. The level of sulfur oxides (SOX) depends on the sulfur content of the oil used in the
generator.

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 Vehicle Emissions

Carbon monoxide (CO) is the primary pollutant emitted by vehicle exhaust systems. This is
highest if the vehicle is poorly maintained and has incomplete combustion.

 Dust Emissions

Particulate matter and other dust particles released into the air during the crushing process will
affect the air quality.

Water Quality

Potential environmental issues associated with the use of local groundwater resources for project purposes
include:

 Long-term impact – withdrawal of groundwater in excess of sustainable yields reduces the

amount of groundwater available
 Short-term impacts – Groundwater production near wells used for project purposes may be
reduced and water quality in surrounding wells may be degraded.

You can also expect the following effects

 Chemical exposure to pollutants Increased silting from surface runoff (due to removal of
vegetation and deposition of raw materials such as sand)
 Disposal of waste to bodies of water, etc.

Noise

Noise is recognized as one of the most undesirable consequences of grinding activities. Although the level
of annoyance caused by noise is subjective, the most commonly reported effects of elevated noise levels are
impaired verbal communication and sleep disturbance. A variety of activities may cause short-term noise
pollution in the immediate vicinity of the project corridor, causing an unacceptable level of disturbance to
local residents. These include:

 Noise from machines in crushing plants

 Noise generated by the generator.

As the project area is surrounded by open land and mountains, no significant adverse impacts on the project
area are expected. Additionally, noise levels are not expected to exceed workplace exposure limits.
Therefore, it has no negative impact on employees. Nonetheless, noise abatement procedures are put in
place where necessary.

Solid Waste
Potential Impact

The Inadequate provision of portable restrooms like workers camps, offices, garbage dumpsters etc. at the
site could lead to the unsanitary and unhygienic conditions. Resulting impacts could vary from unsightly
littering of the site, fly and vermin infestation to increased nutrient levels in the stream leading to the
disposal station. But this is not for all plant because some plant labor back to home at night so there is not
any type of solid waste present but some plant where labor camping to night sleep as a result according

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with the passage of time a lot of solid waste impact problem arises as a result a lot of environmental
degradation take place like blockage of streams, contaminates lakes.

Health and Safety

Potential Impact

There will always be the possibility regarding hazard to health and safety of workers to occur during the
operation phase of the project. These impacts include the dust emissions, particulate matter and other air
emissions from crush plant. Moreover no one worker use the safety equipment because of according to her
view they aren’t comfortable doing work wear safety equipment so in summer they are more uncomfortable
feel these safety equipment as a result the plant owner not force to encourage these safety measure. If we
see it’s a huge risk because they are working in critical condition like in syndicator operator if they are not
wearing properly halmet a lot of risk damage.

Environmental Management Plan (EMP)

An Environmental Management Plan (EMP) is made for the efficient management and implementation of
the mitigation measures that includes environmentally friendly technologies, management, and physical
controls are some of these mitigation approaches.

Objectives of EMP

The EMP provides an approach to address potential project activity impacts, increase project benefits, and
implement best practices standards across all project activities.

 Facilitation in identifying environmental or health impacts and implementation of remediation

measures.
 Responsibilities of the project proponents, contractors, and environmental monitors are defined by
EMP and it will provide effective means of communication among all.
 Provide a mechanism for taking timely action in the face of unanticipated environmental
situations.
 Training and capacity building of workers and management to handle hazardous material and act
accordingly during environmental or health emergencies.

Ambaint Air Quality

Mitigation Measures

 The conveyor belts will be covered.

 There will be a dust bag house filter to prevent dust pollution.
 Stock piles will be covered with tarpaulin sheets and will be sprinkled with spray or water.
 Stock piles height will be kept at minimum and close to the consumption point to minimize dust.
 Water will be sprinkling on daily basis to reduce the dust emission
 Low emission vehicles will be used during the transportation of materials.

Water Quality

Mitigation Measures

 During the construction phase the project will not have any significant impact on the quality of
any surface as well as ground waters.
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 Further, since all wastewaters, if any, will be stored in pits and reused in various construction
activities and other landscaping works.
 Surface water should be used for sprinkling if any; otherwise groundwater should be carefully
used in less quantity and should not be wasted.
 The opening of bore or well will be covered to avoid pollution/contamination of groundwater.
 No chemicals or other liquid waste should be disposed into any type of water body.

The Three R’s Principle (Reduce, Reuse and Recycle) should be adopted to avoid water degradation.

Nolise

Mitigation Measures

 Using proper tuned and lubricated machinery and equipment etc.

 Workers operating equipment that generate noise should be equipped with noise
 Protective equipment like ear muffs or plugs.
 Generator used during power off conditions should be allocated separately and in a close chamber
to reduce noise.
 Vehicle used for transport etc. should be properly maintained and tuned to avoid noise generation.
 Sound barriers around the boundary wall to reduce the impact on the surrounding

Solid Waste

Mitigation Measures

 Clean in place activity should be performed.

 MSW generated will be collected by government departments responsible for waste
 Management. Metal or wooden waste produced during the project will be sold in market for its
reuse
 A site waste Management plan should be made.
 Providing adequate number of camps/restrooms for the workers and waste bins and dumpsters is
essential to keep the project site clean.
 Arrangements should be made for regular garbage collection and removal from the site.
 Organic solid waste will be composted in nearby agricultural fields and will also be used as
manure for growth of the planted trees during the project

Health and Safety

Mitigation Measures

The workers will be provided in emergency with medicine, first aid box and possible treatment. The
contractor will ensure the availability of transport and driver handle any mishap which may occurs during
the construction activities at the project site.

The storage of solid waste shall be practiced so as to prevent the attraction, harborage or breeding of
insects or rodents to and to eliminate condition harmful to public health or which creates safety hazards,
odors, unsightliness or public nuisance.

 Provide Personal Protective Equipment.

 Provide Dust mask to the labors.
 Special gloves for electrical technicians.
 Provide emergency plans and exit doors.
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 Induction training must be given to all labor during working hours.

 EMP should be strictly followed.
 Clean in place activity should be implemented.
 Ear plugs or mufflers to those labors who works in noisy areas like near generators etc

Impacts on Flora and Funa

Mitigation Measures

 A total number of 500 fast growing trees, flowering plant and other native plant species are plan to
be planted at the project site which will enhance habitats for birds and reptiles etc.
 Hence it can safely be concluded that the project will have no negative impacts but has positive
impact soon the biological environment of the area.
 During operation phase the workers will be prohibited from hunting or shooting birds or mammals
etc.
 There are only bushes in the project area which will be cleared and in return fruit plants and native
trees will be grown.
 By cutting one tree proponent is bound to grow five more trees in its replacement in the area
available

Conclusion
According to the study it is concluded that the project has no adverse long term impact on the environment
around the project site and it has also no adverse impacts on the localities near the site of the project if all
the medical waste is incinerated. All the environmental components like air, water and soil will not be
affected during both the constructional and the operational phase if the Environmental Monitoring Plan and
Environmental Management Plan are followed properly. The study was conducted properly and the site,
water resources and localities were visited properly as was mentioned in the Guidelines for the preparation
and Review of IEE and EIA. On the basis of the findings of the IEE, the experimental and observational
study the project poses no adverse threat to the environment but some recommendations are proposed
which must I consider to improve the quality of environment, these recommendations are given below;
Plantation must be carried out within the scope of the project. Natural resources must be used in a
sustainable way and the approach towards the development must me sustainable. Environmental
Management Plan should be implemented properly as it is recommended in this report. The slogan that
project management should adopt must be “Clean and Green Environment”, which will make the project
more environmentally friendly.

References
Central pollution control board, (2012) “report of expert committee on the environmental problem due to
stone crusher.
Central Pollution Control Board, Comprehensive Industry Document, Stone Crushers, Central Pollution
Control Board, Parivesh Bhawan, East Arjun Nagar, Shahdara,Delhi- 110032, February 2009.
Chang Y.M, Chang T.C, Chen W.K. An estimation on overall emission rate of fugitive dust emitted from
road construction. Environmental Engineering Science.1999; 16:253-267 http//.green environmental
management and sustainable solution IEE report of crush plant.com
Chaurasia, S., Singh, R and Pathak, V., (2009) “Environmental Study of Stone Crusher”, Indian Journal of
Environmental Protection, Volume 29, No.7, pp. 653-656.
Ilyas, M. and Rasheed. F; (2010) “health and environmental related issues in stone crushing in Pakistan “.
South asia network and economic institute.

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Khaleque, A. and Elias, M.S., (1997) “Environmental Pollution and Health Problems of Industrial Workers
in Bengaladesh”, Human Health and Environment, Volume 1, A. P. H. Publishing Corporation, New
Delhi, pp. 1-9
Ukpong E.C. Environmental and Social Impacts of Stone Quarrying-A case study of Kolhapur district,
International Journal of Current Research.2014; 6(3): 5664-5669

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