Summit held to improve public safety at former quarry sites

The Mineral Products Association, UK, has held a summit addressing public safety at former quarry sites. This year alone, eight people have died in disused and non-operational quarries in the UK. The summit aimed to share current safety practices and look at how improvements can be made through greater cooperation between involved parties. The event was attended by representatives from the mineral products industry, nature conservation groups, safety organisations, regulators, emergency services, landowners, as well as recreational and sporting groups.

“In many cases, responsibility for the management of these former quarry sites has passed from the original quarry operator to local authorities, environmental groups, private landowners or farmers,” commented Chief Executive of the Mineral Products Association Nigel Jackson.

“We wanted to learn the lessons from this year and to identify what measures can be taken over the next twelve months by working collaboratively with other stakeholders to achieve the goal of preventing future fatalities and serious injury to members of the public.

“The summit has highlighted to us the importance of initiatives already underway such as the development of a national water strategy. The involvement of all these different stakeholders was very positive; together we identified a range of possible actions and partnerships that we will work on developing over the next twelve months. We will build on the new relationships that we have established and will contact a number of other organisations identified during the summit who can also help to raise awareness of the hazards and risks posed by former quarries and open water,” added Jackson.

Adapted from press release by Louise Fordham

Read the article online at: https://www.worldcement.com/europe-cis/06112013/mpa_hosts_former_quarry_site_public_safety_summit_381/