Villagers up in arms against stone crusher

Lydia Gachabi whose farm borders the stone crushing plant. [Kibata Kihu, Standard]

Lydia Gachambi detests the hot weather.

She is her late 70s and walks with the aid of a cane because her joints are afflicted with arthritis, but she prefers the cold season even though she suffers more.

Gachambi has lived in Honi village, a few kilometres from Mweiga town in Nyeri County, for as long as she can remember, but has for the past three years had to leave from time to time when the rains subside.

The bane of her and other villagers’ existence is a stone crushing plant that was established in the area three years ago.

On a typical day, clouds of dust rise as the stone crushing machines reduce huge boulders to chips.

Ms Gachambi loathes the dry weather as there is much more dust in the area compared to the rainy season.

The residents are up in arms against the plant, which they say has made their lives a living hell through dust and noise pollution.

Opposed construction

In October 2015, they opposed the construction of the stone crushing plant, worried that the noise and dust would be detrimental to their health.

But it was not until a week ago that the National Environment Management Authority (Nema) Director General Geoffrey Wahungu gave them an audience.

Nema licences such plants. The licence is issued after a study of the environmental impact of the proposed project.

Once the environment watchdog is convinced the benefits of the project outweigh the negative impacts and the owner promises to mitigate the negatives, Nema then issues the licence.

“We (Nema) licenced this plant, but the conditions when you are starting are different from when the machine is operational. We will have to review the conditions before we come to a conclusion,” Prof Wahungu said.

To counter the air pollution that is caused by dust emitted during blasting, stone extraction and crushing, the crushers are mandated to constantly water the site to reduce the amount of dust in the air.

The rocks are supposed to be watered before crushing.

400-metre radius

In an area that is largely semi-arid and severely water-stressed, the residents are complaining that the dust settles on their roofs, polluting the rain water that they harvest.

The plat owners have failed to prove, even to Nema, that they have put in place significant measures to reduce dust emission.

But this is not a problem that is limited to Honi village. At Milimani in Chaka, along the Nyeri-Nanyuki highway, the noise and dust from stone crushing plants have become “normal” for the residents.

There are about four stone crushers in the area, all within a 400-metre radius of one another in an area with human settlement.

Residents such as John Maina said the plants have made their lives difficult.

“Every morning we wake up to the same dangers. We spend sleepless nights, then rise to flying rocks, suffocate on the dust and repair cracks on our houses,” Mr Maina said.

“Sometimes they blast rocks without giving us prior notice. If they use water in the crushers then let them use a lot of it so that the dust is reduced,” he said.

Mweiga, and parts of Kieni constituency such as Chaka, have a high concentration of quarries.

In February, Nema and the Department of Mines and Geology suspended the permits of some of the stone crushers for non-compliance with regulations.

Some of the plants were found to have been using explosives to break down the rocks without permits from the Geology Department or installing the requisite safety apparatus.

Residents have also questioned whether the industries are legally permitted to operate in human settlements.

Dust rises from the stone crushing plant in Chaka, Nyeri County. [Kibata Kihu, Standard]

Some of them said they raised their concerns at a public participation forum, but Nema went ahead to issue the licences.

Wahungu said in Nyeri last week that it was difficult to reach a consensus during public participation sessions.

He said some of the industries were established long before people settled in the area.

“In Chaka, those plots were subdivided recently and settlements set up, but some crushers were there long before so it becomes difficult to ask them to take responsibility,” he said.