Particulate material pollution generating from quarries and its effects; an example from Sakarya

Stone processing activity has had an important place in human life for 2 million years since the first ages. The raw material of the first tools and equipment, which has an important place in the history of humanity, is stones, which is a natural mineral. Stone, which was used in the making of daily tools, agricultural tools and war tools in primitive times, is one of the most important mines that affect the historical process such as the establishment of civilizations, the construction of houses for sheltering, the construction of roads or castles and walls with strong walls, with the beginning of urbanization. Stone, which is one of the main building materials, is used in many areas such as ready mixed concrete production, floor filling material, decorative use, cobblestone production, base material on railways. Depending on the use of concrete, quarries also work at the capacity to produce raw materials for this sector. The stone mine, which was obtained, disintegrated and sized by human power in ancient times, has left its place to modern tools with the development of technology. Thanks to these modern tools and up-to-date mining techniques, the amount of material that is broken, shredded and processed has also increased. Quarrying, which is one of the underground mining branches, operates for the extraction and processing of aggregate material found in nature. The main environmental impact during the operation of quarries is air pollution. Emissions occur during blasting, breaking large pieces with a crusher, in-quarry transportation, crushing and sieving in the crushing-sieving facility, bringing them to the desired size, in-pit stock and shipping to the customer. Emissions are limited by law and the activities of facilities producing emissions above the limit are not allowed. Considering the effects of these emissions from part to whole, they have effects primarily on the quarry personnel, then on the natural life around the quarry, on the people residing in the vicinity, on the region and on the atmosphere in the widest extent. For this reason, in this study, an actively working quarry in Sakarya province was selected, particulate matter and precipitated dust emissions from the plant were examined, measurements were made, calculated and the emission distribution was determined using the AERMOD distribution model. The environmental and human health effects of this distribution were determined. The results were evaluated within the limits of legal regulations and suggestions were made about the precautions to be taken. Keywords: Quarry, aggregate, particulate matter, air pollution