INVESTIGATION OF THE EFFECTS OF STONE QUARRYING ON THE ENVIRONMENT AND HUMAN HEALTH IN NORTH CYPRUS /
IBRAHIM FOFANA; SUPERVISOR: PROF. DR. RANA KIDAK
- 57 sheets; 31 cm. Includes CD
Thesis (MSc) - Cyprus International University. Institute of Graduate Studies and Research Environmental Engineering Department
Includes bibliography (sheets 54-57)
ABSTRACT Mining is regarded as one of the most vital socio-economic activities with the capacity to make a significant contribution to economic growth. Concurrently, policymakers, the broader population, stakeholder organizations, and individuals have been concerned about the environmental and health effects of mining on nearby communities. While the contributions of mining operations to North Cyprus’s economic success are generally recognized, some believe that the benefits from the mining industries come at considerable environmental, health, and social consequences to the country. The growth of infrastructure and construction in modern-day society due to an increase in the population, housing, and infrastructure has led to an increase in stone/aggregated quarrying for building materials around the world. Quarrying is a major environmental issue as it causes degradation and also socio-economic issues in different parts of the world. Some of the negative effects of quarrying that were observed during this research are noise pollution due to the blasting of explosives, air pollution due to the dust emission from the blasting, transportation, etc., and cutting of hills and mountains which in turn affect the biodiversity, pollution of both the surface and groundwater sources due to quarrying which leads to both environmental and health issues. In this research, soil samples were collected at one of the quarries located at the Beşparmak Mountain, and different laboratory experiments were performed such as Conductivity, pH, particle size distribution (Mastersizer), Specific gravity, Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (XRF). The results obtained from this analysis were compared with international standards and the results were analyzed using excel. It was observed that the pH levels were higher than the normal levels. The (Electrical conductivity) EC levels were lower than the recommended international standards. The specific gravity was observed to be perfect for construction standards this, in turn, makes the mining process difficult to regulate because of the growth in infrastructure. The particle sizes were a problem according to the Respirable Crystalline Silica (RCS) and Occupational Exposure Limits (OEL). Scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis showed the microscopic crystal-like structure of the dust particles.