UAE shuts 3 quarries for violations

The UAE’s Ministry of Environment and Water (MoEW) has shut down three quarries for three months and warned another for flouting environmental, safety and health regulations during a night inspection campaign in Ajman.

The facilities violated UAE Cabinet Resolution No. 20 of 2008, which regulates the operations of crushers and quarries and the transportation of their products.

The Ministry has stepped up its efforts to monitor and regulate the activities of industrial facilities operating in the UAE through stricter implementation of laws and regulations. This forms part of its initiative to promote environmental sustainability as well as protect and conserve the surrounding environment and health of nearby residents.

Ghanem Al Shamsi, Assistant Undersecretary for External Audit Affairs, MoEW, said the move had come after a team from the ministry’s External Audit Division conducted a field visit to crushing plants operating in the Masfout area. The ministry’s regular inspections of crushing and quarry plants are part of its mandate to monitor their operations in order to promote environmental sustainability.

During the audit, Al Shamsi added that his team discovered several environmental violations committed by these plants.

He said the facilities were shut down for committing several environmental violations including the existence of dust resulting from moving and loading as well as from main feeding units, filtering and transporting belts due to failure to maintain the covers of central feeding units.

There were other violations too of the federal legislations regulating the work of quarries like failure to install their curtains, unpaved roads leading to the quarries and absence of guiding signs.

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