Displaying items by tag: Environment

US: Residents living near Essroc's cement plant and quarry at the south end of Martinsburg, West Virginia have claimed that dust coming from the plant has coated their vehicles and made it difficult to keep them clean. "If I wanted my vehicle to stay clean, I would have to go to the car wash every day," said Thompson Street resident Melissa Kneisly.

According to local media, Essroc officials said that they have taken multiple steps to keep dust from becoming airborne and leaving their facilities after receiving multiple complaints from nearby residents. The increased number of trucks hauling clinker to Pennsylvania caused the extra dust to be kicked up from the loading of the trucks and transportation on the roads, according to Environmental Manager Bradley Blasé. In recent weeks, the number of trucks leaving the plant has nearly doubled to 50/day as a result of a special operation. Besides truck traffic, Blase also cited dry and unfavourable weather conditions for contributing to the dust problem. Plant Director Heinz Knopfel said that the plant has increased the sweeping of roads and watering as part of efforts to contain the dust.

Jake Glance, a spokesman for the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), said that the agency is aware of the dust situation and has had an inspector from the Division of Air Quality looking into the issue for several days. "The situation is still under investigation and right now, the DEP cannot speculate on what the dust is or where it is coming from," said Glance.

Panama: Cemex's Panamanian operations have been awarded the highest recognition in sustainable development and environmental management by the Panamanian Chamber of Construction (CAPAC). Cemex Panama earned this honour for its implementation of protection and conservation policies in the environments where it operates.

The award criteria included the company's environmental policies, energy and water efficiency, waste management and the handling of chemical substances; air pollution mitigation; environmental controls and records; environmental contingency plans; and reforestation plans.

Cemex Panama obtained this recognition thanks to such initiatives as its Technological Innovation Project based on P+L Systems, which resulted in energy savings of 32% at its cement plant; its Reduction of Water Consumption Project, which helped reduce its water consumption by over 35%; its waste management and waste-water treatment policies; its Reforestation Project, which will enable the recovery of 633,000m2 of forest by 2019.

"We are very honoured to receive this award, which recognises the integration of environmental management in our daily operations and processes," said Andres Jimenez, President of Cemex Panama. "Sustainability is an integral part of our business model and a core component of Cemex's future growth."

Indonesia: Semen Indonesia has decided to continue to develop its new factory in Rembang, Central Java following protests by some local residents. Semen Indonesia's CEO Suparni said that the construction is currently 60% complete, with production expected by October 2016.

Suparni admitted that the development of the factory has been opposed by some of the local residents. Residents of North Kendeng, experts and academics have criticized the development of the factory. Untung Sudadi, a geologist from the Bogor Institute of Agriculture said that the North Kendeng area, where part of the factory will be built, is a karst area, which collects water for local residents and can be susceptible to sinkhole formation and instability.

Similar to an underground basin, karst areas function as water catchment areas. "Karst is essential to maintain water supply," said Untung. He added that conducting mining activities in karst areas would cause environmental damage.

Suparni said that the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the cement factory has been completed. He also said that the presence of the factory would not disturb water supplies to the local society.

UK: According to the Daily Mail, a disused cement plant in Shoreham, West Sussex will be transformed into a Euro143m eco-friendly resort that will 'resemble the Shire from the Lord of the Rings.'

The disused Shoreham cement plant on the edge of the Sussex Downs near Shoreham is set to become one of the most environmentally-friendly holiday resorts in the UK. Plans for the 477,529m² site will see 600 eco-friendly holiday pods with glass roofs constructed. 1.5MW solar panels mean that the on-site vehicles will not consume any petrol.

The development has been drawn up by architects at ZEDfactory, which has claimed that the project could provide 500 jobs. "It's taken a colossal amount of work and will see a significant investment," said ZEDfactory director Bill Dunster. "It will be a very beautiful place. Instead of seeing vertical chalk cliffs that look rather like a moonscape, it will be entirely green, ivied, with trees. It will look stunning." As well as the amphitheatre and 600 holiday homes, the quarry will also house 50 'earth sheltered homes' built partially underground.

"Nestled in the heart of the South Downs National Park is one of the South East's largest brown field sites. The local residents as well as the Parks Authority want to see something truly exceptional happen there," said a project spokesman. "Working with the local parish and experienced architects, we have put together a community-led proposal to redevelop the cement plant into a world-leading eco attraction showcasing and housing green businesses as well as an earth sheltered holiday park, an outdoor concert amphitheatre, natural swimming lakes and much more." The scheme has the backing of the Low Carbon Trust and the plans will be lodged later in 2015.

The brownfield site is one of three major developments in the pipeline for the area of outstanding natural beauty, according to the South Downs National Park Authority. The authority said that no formal planning application has yet been submitted for the cement plant, but said that a great deal of thought would be given to any application.

"This is an important strategic site in a very sensitive location. It will be considered as part of the Local Plan for the National Park," said a park spokesman. "'No applications have yet been submitted and there's still much work to do to ensure that any proposals safeguard the South Downs' wildlife, landscapes and heritage and can actually be delivered. The site has the potential to make a substantial contribution towards sustainable growth, but also to accommodate innovative development, which promotes National Park purposes."

Chile: The Superintendency of the Environment (SMA) has filed charges against the Cemento Polpaico cement company regarding environmental irregularities at the Cerro Blanco plant in Til Til, near Santiago. SMA discovered that the plant failed to comply with carbon emission directives and did not have an adequate contingency plan for the preservation of underground water sources. The company now has ten days to adjust procedures or reply to the charges laid by the entity within 15 days before SMA issues penalties.

Slovenia: Lafarge said that the country's environment inspectorate has ordered the plant to suspend operations as it lacks environmental permits. The inspectorate acted following a recent decision from the European Commission to refer Slovenia to the European Court of Justice for failing to issue an industrial permit to a major cement plant. The Commission is also asking for fines to be imposed.

Lafarge said in a statement on its website that it will respect the decision and shut down the kiln on 5 March 2015, but would lodge a complaint with the Ministry of Environment and Spatial Planning. Lafarge said that in the process of obtaining the required licences, it had operated in accordance with all relevant environmental standards and that numerous studies have shown that the plant does not have a major impact on local air quality. It also stressed that it had invested more than Euro33m to modernise the plant since it was bought by Lafarge some 13 years ago.

Canada: McCinnis Cement's US$1.1bn cement plant, which is under construction in Quebec's Gaspe region, could be cancelled if work is suspended in order to conduct environmental hearings.

Lafarge Canada and two non-profit groups mounted a legal challenge in the summer of 2013 after Quebec's environment minister authorised the project without an environmental assessment hearing. In a legal filing McInnis said that the project is subject to old environmental rules that were in place when it was first proposed more than 20 years ago.
Successive provincial governments have confirmed many times that the project is not subject to current rules that require such hearings.

Egypt: Suez Cement Co has voluntarily agreed to close its Tourah Cement Factory 1 to comply with the local government's policy to reduce the number of facilities that do not meet environmental standards. Suez Cement has instead chosen to invest US$69.9m in environmental mitigation measures at its Tourah Cement Factory 2.

Malaysia: Scientists have discovered a new snail species on a limestone hill known as Kanthan in Malaysia. They have named the species, which is only 2-3mm in diameter, 'Charopa lafargei,' after Lafarge Malaysia, the cement producer that owns the hill.

As Kanthan is the only place that this species has been observed, Charopa lafargei was immediately classed as 'critically endangered' in the IUCN Red List for Endangered Species. This means that its future is effectively in the hands of Lafarge, which purchased the hill to make cement. The scientists decided to name the snail after Lafarge for this reason, although it is not clear if or how the name will affect the future actions of the producer.

"I'm not aware of a species threatened with extinction that has been given the name of the company that can determine whether it goes extinct or survives," said Tony Whitten from Fauna & Flora International.

The new snail is not the only endemic species found on the hill. Kanthan is also home to nine plant species that are on Malaysia's Red List of Endangered Plants. One critically endangered spider, one gecko and two other snails that are also found only on Kanthan.

Canada: Lafarge has completed a US$20m upgrade at its Exshaw cement plant in Alberta, which will reduce the level of emissions generated by its operations. The upgrade is one part of an ongoing expansion at the plant that will ultimately see Lafarge nearly double the plant's output from 1.2Mt/yr to 2.2Mt/yr.The expansion was originally planned in 2008, but was delayed because of the economic downturn.

Now, with Alberta 'booming again,' the timing is right, according to Bob Cooper, Lafarge vice-president for Western Canada Cement. The project will be completed by the summer of 2015.

"We're quite proud of this because we're helping to build Alberta. "We're the only company in Alberta right now, from a cement standpoint, increasing our output," he said. "The market is quite strong. We see a lot of growth going forward in Alberta, the Prairies and even British Columbia."

The environmental benefits of the expansion and side-projects will be 60% lower sulphur dioxide emissions and 40% lower nitrogen oxide emissions.In addition, new dust mitigation and noise abatement equipment has been installed. Lafarge has also installed a new water recycling system, which means that the plant will no longer discharge used water into the Bow River.