2.2.3

Quarrying

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Quarrying

Limestone is quarried (excavated) in many areas of the UK including Yorkshire, Derbyshire and Somerset.

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Benefits of quarrying

  • Limestone is an important rock economically as it is used for building, in making cement and in the steel industry.
  • Quarrying limestone brings employment to areas where there are few opportunities.
    • Approximately 30,000 people have jobs in quarrying or in related industries.
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Drawbacks of quarrying

  • Quarrying is unsustainable as the limestone is a non-renewable resource (it will eventually run out).
  • Habitats for wildlife are destroyed by quarrying.
  • Agricultural land can be lost, e.g. at Tunstead Quarry in Buxton.
  • Quarrying is responsible for visual, noise and air pollution as well as problems caused by the heavy lorries transporting the rock.
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Reducing impact

  • Noise pollution can be reduced by only blasting at certain times or by surrounding the quarry with large earth banks.
  • The visual impact of the quarry can be reduced by landscaping and planting trees around the edges.
    • This will encourage wildlife and plant life. Some disused quarries are now nature reserves.
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Disused quarries

  • Disused quarries could be used as:
    • Landfills.
    • Land for car parks or housing.
  • Disused quarries can be allowed to flood to use for water sports for tourism.
    • For example, the National Diving and Activity Centre is a large flooded quarry in Gloucestershire.

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