Dust
Planning and Legislative Framework
UK planning guidance on dust is given as Annex 1 L0259 of "Minerals Policy Statement 2: Controlling and Mitigating the effects of Mineral Extraction in England". L0183 It complements the general guidance in PPS23 "Planning and Pollution Control L0546and its "Annex 1 Pollution Control, Air and Water Quality"L0547;. It covers applications for new operations and extensions to existing sites as well as the review and modernisation of conditions on older permitted operations.
Key elements of this guidance are the importance of the Environmental Impact Assessment and community engagement; the need for regular dialogue between the site operator and the local community during the planning and operational stages of the site.
For certain quarry processes classed as industrial, dust emissions are controlled under the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010 L0296.
Enforcement action to control dust when it amounts to a nuisance can be taken under Part III of the EPA 1990 L0297. However, the Government expects operators to make proposals that are environmentally acceptable from the outset rather than relying on retrospective action, and MPAs should take due account of this in their decisions on individual applications. MPAs and operators should liaise with the relevant pollution control bodies (i.e. the Environment Agency and Local Authority (LA) Environmental Health Departments in considering and making decisions on individual applications.
Increasing attention is being paid to the impacts of dust on human health, as finer particles can be inhaled and breathed into the lungs and cause harm. The UK has introduced National Air Quality Standards (NAQS) for ambient pollutants such as PM10 dust, which are controlled under the Local Air Quality Management regulations invoked by the Environment Act 1990 L0173. Target objectives for finer particles (PM2.5) are included in the 2007 Air Quality Strategy L00298.
Continued with Site Dust TOP Return to Introduction