| dc.description.abstract | Quarrying is an activity where stones are dug for the purpose of being used in
building, making roads through cutting, digging or blasting. Quarrying is a huge
supporter of local economic development: as the use of extracted material enhances
trade, creating jobs for most people who depend on this for their livelihoods aside
from other economic activities.
Quarrying is a short-term activity with long term effects it comes along with the
promises of wealth and jobs but it brings high environmental costs. The main aim of
the study was to unearth impacts that quarrying activities has on health of the quarry
workers and people living next to the quarries as well as physical environment.
The general objective of the study was: to examine the effect of quarrying activities to
the environment. Specifically, the study examined the effects of quarrying activities
on the natural and human environments. The null hypothesis that was tested was to
find out if there was a relationship between quarrying activity and the environment
which included both the physical and human environment.
Questionnaires and interview were used as tools of data collection. The questionnaires
were administered to quarry workers, quarry owners and people living next to the
quarries to gather the information required. The effects of quarrying on the
environment that included the landscape were observed. Stratified random sampling
was done to get the target population of 189, which was used to gather data.
The information collected was analyzed using SPPS for cross tabulation and to
generate frequencies and statistical graphs for the interpretation of data. Through Chi
square test it was established that there was a relationship between the quarrying
activity and the health of both the quarry workers and area residents. The findings of
the study indicated that the workers did not have protective gears which are a
requirement in their profession. This increases the effects to the health of the quarry
workers.
The findings showed that regardless of the important role that quarrying activities
played in the economic growth; it resulted into negative effects to the environment
such as land degradation. Other quarry workers were not provided by the protective
gear that they need as they carry out their duties and as result they are exposed to
dangers which affect them. This shows that most of the quarry companies do not
adhere to the set environmental legislation such as the Occupational Safety and Health
Act 2007. Results shows that the quarries produce a lot of dust and noise and this
affects the quarry workers and people living close to them. The area was mainly a
grazing land and farm land before the location of the quarries, when the quarrying
companies were established a lot of vegetation has been lost. The several quarries that
have been abandoned act as dumping site where people damp waste from other
construction sites and waste from the nearby house hold. The vegetation has been
affected due to dust accumulation which hinders growth.
Future interventions should be taken by the Government of Kenya to ensure that the
laws governing the quarrying and mining industries are observed through enhanced
surveillance. Licenses of the quarry owners who do not adhere to the set laws should
be revoked. Compliance monitoring visits to quarry sites should be undertaken
routinely so as to minimize the negative effects of quarrying operations on humans
and the environment. Further research on more advanced methods that can reduce the
effects of the quarrying activity on the environment should be carried out. Research
should be carried out to identify the effects of the waste being dumped in the
abandoned quarries on the health of the people living in the surrounding area. | en_US |
