Vital for more studies on quarry blasting activities, says Perak exco

IPOH: More studies on quarry blasting activities are vital to ensure that the environment is well-preserved, says an exco member.

Perak Science, Environment and Green Technology committee chairman Teh Kok Lim said such activities should be carried out according to the guidelines set by the relevant authorities.

He said the state government has always been very strict on this matter, and added that alternative steps to ensure that quarry activities do not disrupt the natural ecosystem should be implemented as best possible.

“Strict conditions are imposed on blasting activities, including the explosive design, certified gunners, timing of the explosions, limits of earthquake parameters and air blasts,” he said.

Teh said this when replying to a question by Azizi Mohamed Ridzuwan (PN–Lubok Merbau) during the state assembly sitting on Monday (Feb 26).

Azizi had asked to what extent the state government monitors quarry in the state to ensure that the activities do not harm the environmental ecosystem.

Teh added that the blasting design proposal for quarry activities should only be prepared by a certified blaster recognised by the mining consultant engineers.

He said the proposal should also be submitted to the Perak Minerals and Geoscience Department for approval, before blasting works are conducted.

“All blasting works must be carried out by certified blasters, and supervised by a consulting engineer to ensure that the activities do not have a negative impact on the surroundings.

“Monitoring of earthquakes and air explosions using Seismometers also needs to be conducted at locations of public interest near, or at any location directed by the department.

“This monitoring work should also be carried out by the quarry operators themselves or through a consulting engineer, and the results should be recorded and submitted to the department,” he added.