Cement plants to review environmental impact

Cement factories face permanent closure if they fail to meet the new green measures announced by the Ministry of Environment and Water. In an advisory issued earlier this week by Dr Rashid Ahmad Bin Fahd, Minister of Environment and Water, cement companies were warned that a temporary three-month closure may be issued to the 11 existing factories in the country if facilities were found in non-compliance. If problems identified in the first warning are not rectified within 90 days, the ministry could shut down an errant cement factory for good. Licence to be withdrawn "In case of not removing violations within the period of administrative closure [three months], the ministry has the right to close the violating factory forever and withdraw its licence," state news agency WAM said. New green measures aimed at improving air quality and workplace safety will apply not only to established production facilities but also to new cement plants in the works, the ministry said. A new resolution issued by the ministry calls for a major facelift on how environmental impacts of cement operations are measured and controlled. The ministry has called for cement companies to create new health, safety and environmental systems for all operations and to maintain ongoing records to monitor and follow up new measures. Reducing emissions One of the main thrusts of the resolution is to markedly reduce "volatile dust emissions" created through concrete production. To get there, "cement factories are obliged to measure the amount of dust inhaled in ambient air, using the factory competent hardware and send monthly reports for monitoring the quality of air and particles, in addition to the flue gas to the Ministry and the competent authority. To keep dust from migrating into adjacent properties, cement factories have also been ordered to "form a green belt around the plant" by covering external borders of the site with up to 50 per cent of newly planted trees.