Councillors not happy with view on quarry safety

Councillors not happy with view on quarry safety

11 September 2013

LOCAL politicians have challenged an assertion that almost 100 quarries across the district do not pose a danger to the public.

Down Council officers recently inspected the quarries — a number of which have been abandoned — as part of a major investigation following the deaths last month of two people at a disused quarry in the Mournes.

Fifteen year-old Kevin O’Hare, a student at St. Malachy’s High School in Castlewellan, drowned in the quarry along with 39 year-old Colin Polland who tried to save the teenager during an incident which stunned the local community.

In the wake of the tragedy, Down Council drew up plans to examine 92 quarries in its area to ascertain if they posed any level of threat to the public.

Council Director, Canice O’Rourke, told a meeting of the local authority’s Environment Committee that as a result of the council investigation, none of the quarries were deemed to pose a risk to the public.

But the committee chairman, Councillor William Dick, and some of his colleagues challenged the assertion. They want members of the public who feel quarries in their respective areas do pose a risk to contact council officials to have them examined again.

“The last thing anyone wants is another tragedy. What happened last month shone the spotlight on quarry safety and it’s an issue which everyone needs to take very seriously,” said Councillor Dick.

“If members of the public feel that quarries in their area are not safe then I want them to contact Down Council. We all have a responsibility to voice our concern on this important issue.”

There are a number of abandoned quarries across the district and the Department of Environment recently suggesting that a dye could be added to the water to deter people from swimming in them.

Councillors were told last week that dyes have been used to discolour quarry water in England to deter swimmers and that all available information suggests this does not have an detrimental impact on water quality and the surrounding environment.

In a letter to Down councillors, Environment Minister Mark Durkan said the Environment Agency has indicated that a risk assessment should be carried out before any quarry water is dyed in order to identify any site specific risks to the aquatic environment.

Councillor Dick said dyeing the water is one possibility, but said it needs to be ascertained who is responsible for doing this. He has asked council officers to find out if responsibility lies with Down Council or the quarry owners themselves.

He added: “Quarry safety is now at to the top of the agenda. We need to do all we can to help keep it there and do what is necessary to prevent further tragedies.”