The Health Issue

Airborne sulfides from quarries are known to cause respiratory ailments such as asthma.

Blasting from quarries is known to cause elevated levels of radon in nearby homes and in groundwater wells. Radon is the second largest cause of lung cancer in the country.

Silica makes up part of the earth's crust. In nature the particles are too large to be easily inhaled. In the quarrying and rock crushing process these silica particles are reduced to microscopic size. These invisible particles are so light they can remain airborne for long periods of time and can travel great distances on the wind. It takes only 1 microscopic silica particle to become lodged in the air sacks of the lung to cause silicosis - an incurable lung disease in which the body continually surrounds the particle with scar tissue, reducing the capacity of the lung. There are no symptoms in the early stages of the disease. It can go undetected for 15 to 20 years after exposure.

There are many types of Scoloderma and several different causes, however, silica is a known environmental cause of Scoloderma. Scoloderma is a skin disease. Thickening of the skin, usually beginning on the fingers or the legs, constricting blood flow to the limbs. It can also cause facial scarring. Some forms of Scoloderma can affect internal organs. Scoloderma more commonly affects women and children then it does men. Because children are growing and developing, children who have scoloderma may develop withered limbs or facial disfiguration.

Silica dust is a known Class A carcinogen. It is known to cause lung cancer; COPD; kidney failure; immune system dysfunction diseases; Tuberculosis; heart disease; rheumatoid arthritis and bronchitis.

No prevailing wind studies have been conducted for the Cape Cod Aggregates quarry site in Assonet or the proposed site in Berkley to predict where dust from the quarrying process and rock operation might travel.