Using Limestone Part 2

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  • Created by: Samb0y
  • Created on: 12-05-14 22:20

Using Limestone Part 2

Advantages

  • Limestone is very important and incredibly important resource due to its presence in stuff like: houses; roads; dyes; paints and medicines.
  • Limestone can be used in agriculture i.e. it can be used to lower acidic soils PH levels and also make acidic lakes/rivers a lower PH level as well.
  • Limestone can be used in power station chimneys to neutralise sulfur dioxide which is the biggest contributor to acid rain.
  • When opening quarry you also provide more jobs for people, you boost the local economy and also can lead to local improvements in roads, recreation facilities and health.
  • Once quarrying is completed, landscaping and restoration is usually required as part of the planning permission which means the holes have to be filled in or turned into something useful.
  • Limestone is widely available and is cheaper than marble or granite.
  • Some limestone is hard-wearing like marble and is still attractive looking.
  • Concrete and cement don't rot (a key component is limestone) meaning buildings last longer than a wood building.

Disadvantages

  • Quarrying can go on for years and eventually leave a massive ugly hole in the ground which often permanently change the natural landscape.
  • Quarrying processes (blasting the rocks) creates a lot of noise and air pollution. Due to quarrying only happening in rural places it often destroys the peacefulness and tranquility that was part of the area.
  • Quarrying destroys habitats for animals and birds. This has a detrimental effect due to it can throw nature off balance.
  • The limestone needs to be transported, the only effective transport is lorries. Unfortunately, lorries produce a lot of air pollution by their exhaust engines and also create a lot of noise.
  • Quarries also produce a lot of waste material which creates unsightly tips, ruining the natural beauty of an area even more than the quarry being there.
  • Blast explosions produce a lot of dust which can coat habitats leaving the un-habitual and also the dust can also get into lakes and rivers lowering their PH making them alkali which will kill of animals in the watery habitat and also is dangerous to humans as well.

Evaluation

Overall the negatives of a quarry can go on and on, the list simply endless. But if you consider the importance of limestone, you realise that for what the resource is used for makes it and incredibly useful and value table material. Unfortunately the use of quarrying limestone will become less as time progresses due to it being an un-renewable resource which means we will eventually run out of it. 

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