BANES won't be making a decision on the quarry until at least 6th June, but they will continue accepting comments and letters.
Make an objection directly onto the BANES planning notice or write to David Trigwell, Head of Planning at Banes
Sign the NEW online Petition
Visit the official Stop Stowey Quarry website for the latest
Press and Campaign information
Official Stop Stowey Quarry website
Evidence to turn down planning permission
ACCIDENT WAITING TO HAPPEN
Stowey Quarry has REAPPLIED for planning permission to dump 645,000 tonnes of Asbestos in our community.
We Object!
Please...
Sign the NEW online Petition
Make an objection directly onto the BANES planning notice
What can I do? Write to these people now.... Click here.
Background
Planning permission was granted by BANES in 2011 to allow 645,000 tonnes of "non-hazardous waste" (Asbestos) to be dumped into Stowey Quarry over the next ten years. The quarry (disused for many years) is situated 200m from one of the springs that feed Chew Valley Lake Reservoir. Managed by Bristol Water, the reservoir provides 50 million litres of water a day to the homes of Bath, Bristol and surrounding areas. Note that Bristol Water is also adamantly opposed to this plan. They are caretakers of our water supply, and need our support.
Fortunately, after extensive campaigning, this original planning application was quashed by a Judicial Review. Unfortunately, the quarry operator has reapplied, and BANES has re-advertised the planning application notices. All of our previous campaign work has been nullified and we have to start again.
Questions we need answers to
Bristol Water are opposed to this plan on the basis it was inappropriate. Why take this level of risk with our drinking water?
Asbestos poses it's greatest risk when particles become airborne, so why choose a site that is elevated, exposed and with a number of neighbouring local villages down-wind of it, the closest being less than half a mile away?
Why grant this planning permission when there is already enough capacity at Yanley and Avonmouth for many years to come?
How will the local villages and narrow roads cope with up with up to 50 lorry loads of asbestos per day?
Geography
Stowey Quarry covers an area of approx 20 acres and sits at an elevation of approx 520 ft. Water drains from this area into Chew Valley Lake. Hollow Brook spring starts its over-ground life just 200m from the proposed site, and feeds into Chew Valley Lake.
The elevated and exposed location of the quarry site experiences greater wind turbulence than low lying areas.
Just 0.4 miles away down-wind of the quarry sits the nearest villiage of Bishop Sutton. The Parish of Stowey also includes the villages of Chew Stoke, Chew Magna, Hinton Blewett, Clutton and Temple Cloud.
The sides of the quarry have suffered from landslip, and the base is considered too thin for a large volume of waste.
Hollow Brook natural spring starts life just 200 Metres away from the proposed asbestos site.
The village of Bishop Sutton is just 800m away.
REF: Google Earth
Asbestos and its disposal
The quarry operator declares that the asbestos it wishes to dump in Stowey Quarry is of the non-hazardous type. The problem comes with unscrupulous companies who hide their hazardous waste within non-hazardous containments, a common practise because legal disposal of hazardous asbestos is difficult and extremely expensive. The quarry operator may not always be aware of this, and since the Environment Agency can only make checks from time to time, regular contamination is possible and once it has occurred, will be all but impossible to revert.
Testing of every lorry that arrives, using the correct scientific equipment, is impossible.
Potential contamination
If the quarry becomes contaminated with hazardous Asbestos, it will very easily find its way into the drinking water supply for Bristol and the surrounding areas.
Water used from the springs below the quarry is currently used for agricultural purposes.
There will be up to fifty lorry loads of Asbestos delivered per day, which creates a lot of dust. Airborne dust particles from Asbestos pose the greatest risk of all, particularly to the numerous villages which are in close proximity and down-wind of the site.
It's simple – there are nearly 1 million people potentially affected by this, and the risk is just too great.
Facts on health
If you disturb asbestos, you release fibres into the air therefore making yourself and others exposed to the dangers.
According to the Health and Safety Executive, Asbestos is the greatest single cause of work related deaths in the UK.
When disturbed, friable RACM asbestos crumbles into a dust of microscopic fibres which can remain in the air for long periods of time. If inhaled, they pose a serious health threat because asbestos fibres can become permanently lodged in body tissues.
Symptoms of asbestos related diseases generally do not appear for 20 years or longer after the first exposure. Exposure to asbestos has been shown to cause cancer and asbestosis, which is a chronic disease of the lungs with symptoms similar to emphysema.
There are four main diseases caused by asbestos: Mesothelioma, Asbestos-related lung cancer, Asbestosis, Pleural thickenin. These diseases will not affect someone immediately; they often take a long time to develop, but once diagnosed, it is often too late to do anything.
This site is unsuitable because...
• The quarry sits on top of an escarpment with nearby springs and streams feeding into the Chew Valley Lake, a reservoir providing 50 million litres of water a day to Bristol and the surrounding area.
• Bristol Water oppose the plans.
• The sides of the quarry have suffered from landslip.
• The base of the quarry has been quarried so comprehensively that the base is too thin to adequately contain this volume of waste.
• Water used from the springs below the quarry is used for agricultural purposes.
• It's an accident waiting to happen.
Given this evidence we believe that the chance of asbestos being released into the air, or of contamination of local water sources through effluent escaping into the ground is unacceptable. Due to land slippage, the quarry is not capable of containing asbestos for the long term (as it will be required to do). Our understanding is that no liner, however excellent, is fool-proof and in this event there is a significant risk that asbestos and other waste could escape from the landfill site resulting in the water courses and surrounding land becoming being permanently polluted.
References
Asbestos Exposure and Cancer Risk - National Cancer Institute
World Health Organisation - Asbestos: elimination of asbestos-related diseases
Loactions and Elevations from Google Earth
Site by saynotoasbestos