Quarries

Improper handling and storage of chemicals may lead to environmental liability or legal consequences for violating regulatory requirements. During loading and unloading, contamination breaches, leaks, or spills can release chemicals, which may migrate to the soil, groundwater, or adjacent properties. Combinations of incompatible chemicals can react violently or produce toxic byproducts/gases when stored together or mixed.

Explosives are used in the quarry mining process to extract rock and other materials, which may cause damage to neighboring properties and subject the quarry’s owner to third-party property damage claims. The use of explosives also causes fissures that may allow contaminants to enter the groundwater in the area and adversely affect drinking water supplies.

Drilling fluids may contain various additives to help cool and lubricate drills, aid in the rotation of drill cuttings, seal porous layers of the drilling area, and more. These compounds can be toxic, especially to aquatic systems and other natural resources. Drilling fluids could contaminate or cross-contaminate groundwater and aquifer materials. A containment breach or spill could also occur while storing and transporting additives, base fluids, and premixed fluids. Releases can migrate or be carried off-site by stormwater run-off, impacting adjacent properties, stormwater drains, and surface waters. Disposal of spent drilling fluids could result in liquid waste migration from the disposal site.

“Explosive residue” may be left as unexploded material after the completion of blasting operations. The explosive residue can contain hazardous materials, such as nitrate and fuel oil, which can enter groundwater and surface water, such as ponds and wetlands, through gravity flow and washing of the aggregate and can harm natural resources.

Illicit abandonment is the illegal dumping of pollutants on a property. It can become the property owner’s burden for cleanup and third-party bodily injury or property damage if law enforcement cannot find the originator of the waste.

Non-metallic mineral processing operations at the quarry generate dust emissions. These air emissions may violate federal clean air standards and lead to regulatory actions against the quarry. Dust emissions from quarries may also impact the residents of local communities by causing respiratory damage, disease, asthma attacks, acute bronchitis, aggravating lung conditions, or an increase in the susceptibility to respiratory infections. These illnesses could result in third-party bodily injury claims against the quarry’s owners and may ultimately lead to lawsuits.

Quarries use vehicles and heavy equipment in their daily operations. These types of internal combustion vehicles are powered by diesel or propane fuel, which generate air emissions that contain carbon monoxide gas when burned. Breathing carbon monoxide can cause headaches, dizziness, vomiting, and nausea. When carbon monoxide levels become high enough, it can cause a person to lose consciousness or, in severe cases, cause death. Exposure to moderate and high levels of carbon monoxide over long periods has also been linked with an increased risk of heart disease.

Quarries utilize stockpiles, storage ponds, and moats lined with clay or geomembrane materials. Damage to the liner could release contaminants into the subsurface and migrate into the underlying soil and groundwater, resulting in contamination at the site and potentially adjacent properties.

Stormwater run-off from a quarry may come in contact with outside storage of chemicals, debris, waste, or sludge and mobilize contaminants. Additionally, earthwork operations are associated with quarries. Disturbance of surface cover and exposure of bare soils leads to the generation of silt and sediment, which are fine-grained soil particles readily transported in surface run-off. Improper erosion control or stormwater handling can lead to regulatory violations, impairment to stormwater drainage systems and catch basins, impacts on surface water quality, or damage to aquatic systems or drinking water sources.

Equipment washout and decontamination water can contain toxic materials and be caustic and corrosive. Improper washouts from cleaning mobile equipment, pumps, hoses, and drill rods can leach into soil and groundwater or run off-site and into storm drains that discharge into surface waters and significantly damage natural resources and aquatic life.