FOLLOWING xa0last weekend’s tragic events at Paul’s Quarry near Annalong in Co Down where two people died, thexa0Quarry Products Association NI has appealed for everyone’s support in getting thexa0important message out to young people, particularly teenagers, that old, disused andxa0working quarries are dangerous.
[caption id="attachment_39647" align="alignright" width="390"]
The scene at Paul’s Quarry near Annalong – cold, deceptive, dangerous and deep. Kevin O’Hare and Colin Polland lost their lives there in a drowning accident.xa0[/caption]QPANI is the principal trade association representing Northern Ireland’s aggregates andxa0quarry products industry.
QPANI, Regional Director, Gordon Best said: “Our deepest sympathy goes to the families and friends of Kevin O’Hare and Colin Pollandxa0who died so tragically. This tragedy must be a reminder to us all about the dangers ofxa0deep, cold bodies of water that collect in old disused quarries, of which Northern Irelandxa0has hundreds of. We are appealing to everyone of influence, including the media, to helpxa0pass on this important message to young people – “STAY SAFE… STAY OUT”.
The potential hazards that people expose themselves to are:
- Swimming in quarry lakes that can have very cold water even on a hot day in thexa0middle of summer. Strong swimmers have drowned in quarries due to thexa0unexpected impact that the extreme cold has had on their bodies.
- The water in quarry lakes can be very deep and shelving, and exit from the water mayxa0only be possible in a few places. There may also be pumps working or currents that canxa0drag you under the water.
- There can be concealed underwater obstructions and other hazards that canxa0seriously injure swimmers or individuals jumping into the water – tombstoning intoxa0quarry lakes is not safe.
- Tunnelling into piles of sand or playing on stockpiles exposes you to the risk ofxa0sudden collapses or movements that can easily bury you.
- Walking near the edge of quarry faces exposes you to the risk of serious falls as thexa0edges can be unstable and collapse unexpectedly or sheer faces be obstructed byxa0vegetation.
- Climbing or walking near rock faces can expose you to the risk of rock falls.
- Surfaces in quarries that may look solid, such as the surface of a silt pond, canxa0suddenly break and act like quick sand sucking you down.
- Trail and quad biking in a quarry exposes riders to risks from unstable terrain,xa0unexpected obstructions.
- Young people on bikes or on foot may not be visible to operators of largexa0machinery, or they may not appreciate that the driver cannot see them.
- Quarries can often be located in remote sites where mobile reception is poor andxa0there is no one on hand to help in the event of an accident.
Gordon Best, added: xa0”Our Association has dedicated a lot of time and resources everyxa0year to our “Stay Safe” campaign. A recently completed survey of UK quarry sites showedxa0that over half of the respondents had experienced problems with trespass in the last 12 months.
“The survey also analysed the main reasons for trespass. The most commonxa0was theft, usually of cables and fuel at 55%. Other reasons included recreational activitiesxa0such as walking ( 40%) trail and quad bike riding ( 23% ), swimming (22% ), wildlife spottingxa0(15%) and rock climbing ( 8%).
“Our industry has worked extremely hard to deterxa0trespassers through fencing off operational quarries, erecting warning signs and workingxa0with schools and youth groups to educate young people about the hazards. Howeverxa0many of the old quarries across Northern Ireland have been left unregulated and with easyxa0access. There now needs to be collective action to make sure we do all we can do improvexa0safety at these old sites. We will be meeting with Environment Minister, Alex Attwood, onxa0the 18xa0June to discuss how other agencies can support us in getting this very importantxa0message out to our young people.
“We will be calling for the setting up of a working groupxa0led by the DOE, of all relevant stakeholders including the local Councils, schoolxa0representatives, HSENI, PSNI and ourselves representing the quarry industry. The purposexa0of this working group will be to ensure that every young person in Northern Ireland hearsxa0this important message and that steps are taken to identify ownership of old disusedxa0quarries and other isolated bodies of water and that urgent steps are taken in line withxa0the legislation to improve safety and reduce the risks at these sites.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkRzpvPVdds http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdgN_MGu8xsxa0Story of death of Jay Harris and Ryan Walker http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rs_uTp2mcx4 xa0http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gAMCAAGfDA
In addition to the videos there are other resources that are available to help support community andxa0schools engagement work. The Mineral Products Association website provides a summary ofxa0thesexa0http://www.mineralproducts.org/youth_playsafe01.htmxa0. The majority of the resources arexa0available to download or access on-line for free.
There are more than 1,300 quarries and related operations across the UK. In addition,xa0there are many disused quarries, which pose particular safety problems because they arexa0not generally manned.
The number of operational quarries in Northern Ireland is 165, and these providexa015 million tonnes of aggregate a year.]]>
