People living close to dust-emitting quarries in Fujairah are being moved away and compensated for the loss of land and stock as officials vigorously implement new federal environmental regulations. Authorities in Fujairah have twice shut down all the emirate's quarries and rock crushers recently to counter heavy accumulations of dust during periods of severe heat and humidity.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad, the Crown Prince of Fujairah, visited six quarries and cement plants this week and said they were strictly adhering to the new regulations. Even so, he said people close to them would receive new land or other forms of compensation. The anti-pollution regulations issued in May by the Ministry of Environment require quarry and crusher operators to control dust, which is affecting public health and the environment in Fujairah and Ras al Khaimah. They also ban the use of explosives, chemicals and radioactive materials without official approval.
Saif al Afham, the general manager of Fujairah Municipality, who accompanied Sheikh Mohammed on his tour, said there was no residential housing near crushers but there were sheep and goat farms. "[The Crown Prince] said that we would take care of these people and to give them good compensation for their goats and sheep," Mr Afham said. According to the state news agency WAM, some people living near quarries have already been relocated with compensation. The agency gave no details.
Last month, all the estimated 58 quarries and crushers in the emirate were closed twice for five days at a time, Mr Afham said. "We had five days at the end of the month that were very humid. The dust stays on top of the area. It literally does not move. That's why we took precautionary measures and we closed the crushers." Mr Afham, who became the head of the municipality in June, has pledged to take a stronger stand against environmental degradation, including pollution by rock quarries. An estimated 90 rock quarries operate in the two emirates.
When Muzaffer Hamdulay moved to Fujairah he noticed that his car became covered with a thick film of dust every afternoon, so he started cleaning it daily. Despite the recent introduction of federal regulations to curb industrial dust emissions, the clouds continue to gather. Mr Hamdulay and other Fujairah residents said the dust comes from the quarries and rock crushers in the mountains of the northern emirate, which mine the rock and raw materials needed to supply the building boom.
There are 58 quarries in Fujairah and the gravel they produce is a mainstay revenue source for the emirate, which has high unemployment and few other industries. For every tonne of crushed rock sold, the municipality earns Dh1.50 (US40 cents). Residents said the dust was a major problem, but some welcomed the moves to reduce the pollution and compensate those who live and farm close to its sources.
Parthasarathy Pillai, a workshop manager who has lived in Fujairah for 16 years, said he had noticed significant change in the town, its air quality and the surrounding development since he arrived. "It used to be a lot greener here but not any more. All the farms have dried up and they are like deserts now." "It is good that something is being done about it," he added. "[The Crown Prince] is taking care of us here. We don't have the same problems other countries have."
Maisaaa al Kabi, a sales manager, said her brother's family often got sick from the dust, especially when the weather was humid. "They would have got either bad coughs or asthma from it. A lot of their friends and other children here have got asthma from the dust here too," she said. hnaylor@thenational.ae eharnan@thenational.ae
