The UAE Ministry of Environment and Water (MoEW) has issued laws and regulations to promote sustainability and environmental protection in the country. It is monitoring the activities of crusher plants and quarries in the UAE to ensure the health and welfare of nearby residents and the protection of surrounding communities. In cooperation with local authorities, the ministry conducts regular day-time and night-time field visits to these facilities.
Recently, the MoEW ordered the temporary shutdown of a crusher plant in Sakamkam, Al Fujairah due to violations of regulations stated under the Ministerial Resolution No. (20) of 2008, which monitors the activities of crusher plants and quarries and the transport of their products. According to the ministry, the operations of the crusher plant are suspended for an entire month.
Ghanem Al Shamsi, MoEW’s Acting Assistant Undersecretary of External Inspection, said the decision to shut down the facility came after a field visit by the ministry’s professional external inspectors to crusher plant sites located in Sakamkam, Al Fujairah. The visit was part of the ongoing efforts to assess the efficient implementation of federal regulations in these facilities in a bid to promote environmental sustainability.
Al Shamsi added: “The inspectors’ report showed average dust emissions from the plant’s main power supply unit, fine material transport lines and operational roads and areas. Our inspectors also recorded heavy emissions from the quarry during mining operations, in addition to random throwing of stones and materials from high surfaces to the ground. The throwing of stones and materials are causing heavy dust emissions, which are dangerous to the health and safety of the workers.”
Al Shamsi revealed that the Sakamkam crusher plant is the third to be shut down this year amidst the ministry’s intensified efforts to conduct extensive monitoring operations. The efforts are in line with its strategic directives aimed at promoting environmental protection and sustainability. The ministry holds periodic meetings with local authorities to conduct and organize joint field visits to crusher plants and quarries to ensure their compliance with laws and regulations. The inspectors, among others, check the facilities’ integration of the latest technologies into their operations to minimize their impact on the environment. One such technology is dust measuring devices which calculate the amount of dust emitted from crushers. The MoEW continues to assess the effectiveness of existing regulations in order to maintain environmental sustainability, which is a fundamental element of UAE Vision 2021.
Since the start of 2014, the MoEW has already made 50 field visits to different facilities across UAE. Aside from the temporary closure of three crusher plants, the ministry also issued a warning to eight other facilities. In 2013, 16 plants were shut down and four others were given warnings. The remarkable decrease in number of closed plants reflects the successful efforts and robust measures taken by the ministry against violating crusher plants and quarries.