Why is quarrying bad

Capture and identification of Odonates using an aerial net and collection of larvae or nymphs using a hand net. Diversity indices would be calculated and inferences drawn. Measurement of Physicochemical and chemical properties of the water bodies and comparison with World Health Organization WHO standards.

We present to you in this post the rest of the fauna components we encountered at the site. Enjoy and share our memories with us. After six months of project implementation, we have come to the end of our journey on this run. But this is not the end for biodiversity, its just the beginning of more work to safeguard our biological resources. What have we achieved? What were the challenges and our strategies to surmount them? Please read on These were only found at site B where there was a shallow freshwater pool with emergent grasses.

They are habitat specific and their presence is indicative of vegetation cover. With one more day to go, we are making finishing touches to our report. Its the turn of the team leader, Emmanuel N. Taye to do final review and editing. Benthos refers to the bottom or substrate of water bodies and can also be used to refer to organisms in this environment.

Exuviae refers to the exoskeleton of Odonates' larvae that is shed after emergence into adults. A diversity index is a quantitative measure that reflects how many different types such as species there are in a dataset, and simultaneously takes into account how evenly the basic entities such as individuals are distributed among those types.

We looked at both species richness, relative abundance and some diversity indices for all three sites. Site A had the highest species richness and abundance but lowest evenness. Refer to attached image for index figures. Surprisingly the quarry site had the highest species richness, which is most likely as a result of change in the landscape which has produced or created many micro-habitats for several species to coexist in their own niches.

With just a day to the end of the competition, we are bringing you that last parts of our collected data and the implications on water quality and then effects on biodiversity.

Tests run on the water samples from the three sites showed healthy water systems. Implying minimal impacts from the quarry. Water samples from the three sampling sites were tested for presence and concentration of heavy metals with the Pinnacle T Atomic absorption spectrophotometer. This whirligig beetle was found floating passively in the clear waters of the temporary pool under the quarry cliff.

It dived quickly under the water the moment we got near, they are very sensitive to movements in the water column, this makes them efficient feeders as they employ this sensitivity to locate prey. Harnessing grassroots support through awareness creation. Educating the child is key to the future of biodiversity. Astounding revelation!!! Testing hypothesis: harvesting mosquito larvae to feed dragonfly and damselfly larvae. Testing hypothesis: harvesting mosquito larvae to feed damselfly larvae.

This dragonfly larva I have been keeping for some time died today. Just a few more days to emerge as an adult dragonfly. The old adage "When the last tree dies the last man dies" is true in several regards today.

With the direction industrialization and modernization are gong, there would be nothing but land and water on the earth in the not too distant future. In this post I share my thoughts on biodiversity conservation and how its importance cannot and should not be overlooked.

Such an encounter it was meeting with the Jury. The questions, comments and suggestions have drawn our attention to issues relating to data collection and field observations. More than anything team Odonata has been challenged and encouraged to see this project through. These thirsty blood suckers latched their suckers onto my water quality kit the moment it hit the water.

Average rainy season values recorded for the communities were The control community, Oterkpolu, had Questionnaires administration and health records obtained from the health facilities in the communities revealed notable deteriorations in the health of the people as a result of the quarrying activities in the area. Notable among these is the prevalence of malaria though not related to dust emissions, it results from mosquitoes breeding in the stagnant pools of water found in pits created as a result of the mining activity.

Other common health cases recorded were acute respiratory tract infection, ear and eye infections, cough and pneumonia. Quarrying is the process of obtaining quarry resources, usually rocks, found on or below the land surface [1]. The difference between mining and quarrying is that quarrying extracts nonmetallic rocks and aggregates while mining excavates the site for metallic mineral deposits. Some of the stones extracted are sandstone, limestone, perlite, marble, ironstone, slate, granite, rock salt and phosphate rock.

The suitability of the stone for quarrying depends on its quality, the possibility of cheap and ready conveyance to a large market; and its inclination and depth below the surface. The two principal branches of the industry are the dimension stone and crushed-stone quarrying.

In the former, blocks or sheets of stone, such as marble, are extracted in different shapes and sizes for different purposes. In the crushed stone industry, granite, limestone, sandstone, or basaltic rocks are crushed for use principally as concrete aggregate or roadstone. During the commissioning of the largest quarry in West Africa in the Brong-Ahafo Region of Ghana on 29 May , the minister for Lands and Natural Resources reiterated that the Ministry was mindful of the legitimate concerns of the surrounding communities of the potential impacts usually associated with quarry operations such as blasting vibrations, noise, fly rocks, and dust among others [2].

A very high degree of respiratory morbidity is associated with this industry. Fine rock and mineral dust of many kinds have been shown to be carcinogenic when inhaled [3]. Control of particulate pollution is a matter of both health and aesthetics. Increasing attention is being paid to the impacts of dust on human health, as finer particles can be inhaled and breathed into the lungs and cause harm.

Potential health impacts are almost exclusively linked to the presence of airborne dusts, in particular respirable particles, i. According to Banez, et al. Local communities can potentially be affected by dust up to 1 km from the source, although concerns about dust are most likely within meters.

Deposited dust gives rise to the greatest number of complaints to quarries from local communities, particularly for contrasting colours that are more noticeable on deposition. Settled particles may show up particularly on clean or polished surfaces such as cars, windows and window ledges, or surfaces that are usually expected to remain free from dust.

The impacts from quarrying activities on the health of the people are quite significant as blasting vibrations have also resulted in cracks in several buildings exposing the occupants to danger. Other potential quarrying effects which are of concern to environmentalists include biodiversity loss, land degradation, nuisance effects, reduced plant growth, etc. Particulates are the tiny solid or liquid particles that are suspended in air and which are usually individually invisible to the naked eyes [4].

The particulates include soot, smoke, ash from fuel mainly coal combustion, dust released during industrial processes like quarrying and other solids from accidental and deliberate burning of vegetation [3]. TSP is the concentration of all particles in the atmosphere. Particles with aerodynamic diameters of less than 2. Air pollutants such as dust are unhealthy particles solids, liquid gas mixtures that are liable to harm both living and non-living things [11]. When air quality is monitored, the most common measure of the concentration of suspended particles is the PM index which is the amount of particulate matter that is present in a given volume of air [4].

In spite of the dangers of the dust emission resulting from limestone quarrying, there has not been any study on the effects of this activity on the environment and the health of the people living in this community. The objectives of this study are therefore to assess the environmental effects of limestone quarrying and its effects on the health status of the community. It is hoped that the results of this study will not only help environmental scientists but also politicians in policy formulation.

Figure 1 shows the map of the study area carved from the map of Ghana and that of Lower Manya Krobo district while Table 1 shows the codes used in describing the sampling sites. A range of mountains called Yogwa stretches across the district west-east.

Lower Manya Krobo District covers a land area of Lower Manya Krobo has a population of 30, [12]. The three communities in the study area had a total population of Bueryonye: , Odugblase: , Klo-Begoro: The population includes males and females.

Three construction companies are located in the study area. These are A. Fanj, Kamsad and Love. The largest of the three, A. Data on the impact of quarrying activities on the communities in the study area was collected between January and October, using two main methods which were branded as primary and secondary data collections.

Primary data collection: involved data collected by dust level measurement, PM 10 in the study area. Social survey was also conducted by questionnaire administration in the communities sampled. Figure 1. PM 10 inhalable particles was collected at three monitoring stations in January, April, June, August and October, in the study area. A fourth site located about one and half kilometres away from the quarries was used for comparative purposes.

PM 10 was sampled for a period of 24 hours using Mini Volume Portable Air Samplers to pump about 5 litres of air per minute. Flow rates of the systems were checked and recorded before and after sampling. The average flow rates were then determined. Filter papers of pore size less than 10 microns on which the particulates were collected were first stabilized in a desiccator for 24 hours.

The stabilized papers were then pre-weighed with an electronic balance AG Mettler Toledo of milligram sensitivity M 1. The filter papers were then fitted into the PM 10 samplers which were meant to draw air at a rate of 5. Sampling was done for 24 hours after which loaded filters with PM 10 were removed and stored in a dessicator to avoid absorption of moisture. This was later weighed M 2 and PM 10 calculated using the relation:. Three health facilities mostly patronized by the indigenes in the study area were visited and the required data on Out Patient Morbidity was gathered.

This data was collected so that the impact of quarrying activities on the health of the people could easily be analysed. Table 1. Definition of codes describing sampling sites in the study area. Questionnaire was used to collect data from a fraction of the population under investigation and the responses were used to provide a quantitative description of the effects of the quarrying activities on the communities.

The questionnaire was structured into four broad sections which sort for background information, knowledge about quarrying processes and implications, environmental issues and mitigation measures. What is the symbol for hazardous material? How does the Section 8 voucher work? Accept Decline Cookie Settings. I consent to the use of following cookies:. Cookie Declaration About Cookies.

Necessary 0 Marketing 0 Analytics 0 Preferences 0 Unclassified 0. Necessary cookies help make a website usable by enabling basic functions like page navigation and access to secure areas of the website. The website cannot function properly without these cookies.

We do not use cookies of this type. Marketing cookies are used to track visitors across websites. The intention is to display ads that are relevant and engaging for the individual user and thereby more valuable for publishers and third party advertisers. Analytics cookies help website owners to understand how visitors interact with websites by collecting and reporting information anonymously.

Preference cookies enable a website to remember information that changes the way the website behaves or looks, like your preferred language or the region that you are in. Unclassified cookies are cookies that we are in the process of classifying, together with the providers of individual cookies.

Cookies are small text files that can be used by websites to make a user's experience more efficient. The law states that we can store cookies on your device if they are strictly necessary for the operation of this site. For all other types of cookies we need your permission.

This site uses different types of cookies. Some cookies are placed by third party services that appear on our pages.