Kariong Sand and Soil Supplies Facility

Please protect the community

I am a Kariong resident. We are very close to this site.
The prevailing winter winds will carry particles from this site to
where I live.
Unless you can carry out this work indoors with suitable dust
collection please do not continue.

Please don't ruin our local environment! Somersby is NOT the place to
dump waste and pollute our community!!

the location of the silica dust producing facility is entirely
inappropriate for a number of reasons.

1 - the location of the Baxter Juvenile Justice Centre within dozens
of meters of the facility - the health and well being of nearly 200
young people (plus members of staff) will be seriously affected by the
dust

2 - only a little further away, the Mountains High School with some
600+ students and staff - the health and well being of these people
likewise will be seriously affected by the dust

3 - the residents of Kariong - within 3 km there are some six and a
half thousand residents living withing the "drop zone" of any dust -
also having an adverse effect on their health and well being

that is the health of over 7,000 lives being placed at risk with the
placement of this facility.

If the wind blows in another direct (towards the East) then there are
tens of thousands of others potentially affected in the West Gosford,
Narrara, Wyoming and Niagra Park areas - businesses, schools and
residential areas

For these reasons (and many others I have not delineated) this
facility must be rejected.

This cannot be the right area to dump these products. This is a family
area and it will affect future generations and their health massively.
Please reconsider

I object the proposal, as a local resident, I am concerned for the health
and welfare of the community and local wildlife. To be subject to this
environmental hazard without public consent is a disregard of our
rights to a healthy lifestyle. Companies should be held accountable to
managing their materials in areas which have the most minimal impact
on the community and environment. This may mean transporting to an
unpopulated area. I also believe most residents would be completely
unaware of the plans and their potential health hazard, as no great
effort to advise the community has been made. This type of pollution
is completely unacceptable and should not be allowed.

This is a terrible idea! Too close to residential areas. Not to mention
incredibly bad for your health- particularly those with respiratory
issues. Young children in particular would be negatively impacted by
this proposal.

This proposal is very inappropriate for the chosen location. This is far
too close to houses of local residents, Kariong Mountains High School,
the Juvenile Justice Centre, Riding for the Disabled, and local
parklands including Mount Penang Gardens and skate park. I know these
things have to go in someone's "back yard", but please not here! It
would be far more suitable in an area which is more dense in industry
and less distressing for the whole local community.

In regards to the DA proposal at 90 Gindurra Rd, Somersby, I am wholly
and absolutely against it for the following reasons;
DUST - concrete dust is very harmful to health (I have detailed below
some of the health risks). We have 3 asthmatics in our family, and a
child with excessive allergies, skin reactions and health issues. (Can
certainly supply medical evidence if needed) It is going to be
extremely detrimental to everyone in the area for general health
reasons, but particularly for my family. My child is unable to attend
school due to bad health, and home is a safe healthy place, and it is
imperative that it remains so. My child spends a lot of time outside
in the fresh air, and should be able to continue to do this safely in
our own home.
We also have around 30 pets that live outside and would also be
affected by breathing in concrete dust particles. We have a
performance horse whose ability would be affected.
Another major concern is that having a concrete crushing plant would
render our water unusable. We have no access to town water and utilise
rain water, collected from our rooves. Our only water supply would
become a hazard to even bathe in, or wash clothes in, let alone to
cook in or for us or our animals to drink. This means we would HAVE NO
WATER SUPPLY AT ALL.
There is also a creek running through properties and on down into West
Gosford which would be polluted, affecting wildlife that drink and
bathe in it.
Noise - In a rural environment, it is totally unacceptable to be
subjected to this level of noise at all, and especially for 6 days a
week, from 6.30am in the morning to 5.30 in the afternoon. I have
lived on my property for over 30 years and it is unreasonable that a
concrete crushing plant would be allowed to go ahead here, in a
community of small acreages and ruin the resident's quiet way of life.
My child also suffers mental health issues and this constant noise
would be very detrimental to their mental health and already poor
sleep patterns.
Property value - I am a single parent, my financial security to
sustain and secure my future is my property, and I cannot sustain a
drop in my property value. How much would a property even be worth
when it has NO WATER and POLLUTED AIR. Not much at all.
Traffic - I am concerned about the excessive amount of trucks in the
area every day - 90 - 100. I often travel to and from work this way
and am concerned about traffic and congestion, and the unavoidable
deterioration of the roads. Trucks also pose a safety risk to children
walking home from school from the Gindurra Rd/Wisemans ferry Rd
roundabout, which is the closest bus stop to our home.

KNOWN HEALTH ISSUES
Eye contact
Exposure to airborne [cement]dust may cause immediate or delayed
irritation of the eyes. Depending on the level of exposure, effects
may range from redness to chemical burns and blindness.
Inhalation
Inhaling high levels of [cement]dust may occur when workers empty bags
of cement. In the short term, such exposure irritates the nose and
throat and causes choking and difficult breathing. Sanding, grinding,
or cutting concrete can also release large amounts of dust containing
high levels of crystalline silica. Prolonged or repeated exposure can
lead to a disabling and often fatal lung disease called silicosis.
Some studies also indicate a link between crystalline silica exposure
and lung cancer.
Cement dust released during bag dumping or concrete cutting can also
irritate the skin. Moisture from sweat or wet clothing reacts with the
cement dust to form a caustic solution.
http://elcosh.org/document/1563/d000513/cement-hazards-and-controls-health-risks-and-precautions-in-using-portland-cement.html
Cement dust causes lung function impairment, chronic obstructive lung
disease, restrictive lung disease, pneumoconiosis and carcinoma of the
lungs, stomach and colon. Other studies have shown that cement dust
may enter into the systemic circulation and thereby reach the
essentially all the organs of body and affects the different tissues
including heart, liver, spleen, bone, muscles and hairs and ultimately
affecting their micro-structure and physiological performance.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15448758

It is just NOT fair for one company to come in and ruin so many
residents way of lives, their health, their safety and their property
values. This area IS NOT a suitable place at all for this kind of
business. I am quite sure that the owner would not put it in close
proximity to his home, and neither should he put it in ours.

We are a wedding and event hire business situated on Gindurra Road. We
are very concerned about this submission, for a number of reasons:

1/ The dust and debris that will be in the air from the recycling
processes will be dangerous to ourselves and our employees making our
workplace unsafe.

2/ The above dust will cover our products and make them difficult to
keep clean. We are a business that serves the wedding industry and the
quality of our product is paramount.

3/ The amount of trucks that will be using Gindurra Road and
surrounding roads will increase dramatically making the roadway busy
and unsafe. We have many customers visit our showroom and we want them
to feel safe driving on our roads and also that the air is clean here.

4/ Our vehicles utilise the F1 freeway constantly. Already the lights
leading onto the access road from Wisemans Ferry Road to the the
southbound Freeway are constantly backed up and a vehicle can wait for
a number of lights changes just to gain access to the Freeway. We
believe this situation would be increased dramatically if there are
constant truck activity to the site.

5/ We are part of the Gindurra Park Wedding and Event Centre, there
are many wedding businesses here that are clean businesses. Ours is a
clean business, we located to Somersby because of this. At the time
our buildings were built Gosford Council was very strict as per the
type of building and businesses that could be erected here. They
promoted a new area for small business the relocate, one that was safe
and clean for all kinds of businesses.

6/ Somersby has a number of green areas that house plants and animals
that are only found in this area of Australia. Somersby Saltbush and
various frog species. We believe these will be detrimentally damaged.

7/ Waterways around the area will be compromised.

Surely there is a better area for this type of enterprise to take
place, one that is not near clean businesses and private dwellings. We
cannot believe that Gosford Council would agree to this type of
development when other developments have been made to jump through
hoops to protect the local environment and promise a clean workplace
for local businesses.

how again did something so important to our community slip past the
residents. central coast is now a city and we cannot on our outskirts
have a polluting company, they would not do this in Matcham, why are
they trying to ruin Somersby

Having worked for this company before, I can attest to their
professionalism and determination to have minimal detriment to the
local environment. This facility will be a world class recycling
facility of non-putrescible construction and demolition waste which
has a net positive effect on the environment. I support this
application.

I don't want any dust within our area. We have families with children who
will be exposed to potential lethal dust. Not only will it affect the
environment, it will also potentially affect the health of people and
children within the Somersby/Kariong area. We do not need a mine that
will increase respiratory illnesses in our area or any area. The
damage to the environment is another issue. An increase in trucks
coming and going will affect the area. Clearing land is also not
acceptable. There is the Somersby orchid that can only be found in the
Somersby area. Please do not go ahead with this facility.

This development does not meet Council's own Vision for the Future. 24/7
access will impact on nearby residential areas. Will have a negative
impact on air quality in surrounding suburbs.

I object to the concrete crushing facility that is proposed for the
location on Gindurra Rd, Somersby. The on going effects of this for
both environmental and health reasons are serious consequences on
residing in Kariong. The location is too close to populated areas and
the adjoining roads are use for thoroughfare traffic and recreation
traffic. Numerous road cycling events are held on the adjoining roads
and the possibility of breathing air borne cancerous particles is
devastating. The proximity of the proposed plant is also close to the
M1 Pacific Motorway where again the potential exists for inhalation of
particles by thousands of motorists daily. A facility of this type may
lead to class action similar to action against the James Hardie group
for asbestos contamination years ago should it result in proven health
defects.

More information should be available on the effect of this facility to
our health. I am seriously worried about what type of dust will be
generated by this waste facility. I have asthma and I struggle to
breathe every day. Somersby is a very pretty, rural area and I would
hate to see people unable to enjoy the beauty of the area.

Having moved up here with my young family out of Sydney less than two
years ago to get away from traffic, pollution, improve my family's
life style, health, well-being I strongly oppose this area to be used
as a dumping site so close to families, schools, residential areas. It
is unjust, unethical, unfair and plain wrong. We spent our life
savings on our new home and are raising three young children and I'm
in early most critical stages of pregnancy. Please protect innocent
young lives and families, this cannot happen.

Once again the Central Coast is to be used as a dumping ground with
"Planning" by-passing our Council and passing the buck.

This project will rain silicone dust over residents of the Central
Coast. Add to this the illegal dumping of waste which also somehow got
past your scrutiny and "Planning" sounds like a verbal shift for
buck-passing or "don't put it anywhere near Sydney in a marginal
seat".

I wish to voice opposition against this proposal. This type of facility
is not in keeping with the rural area that currently exists in this
location and will no doubt be a negative impact on surrounding
properties and Mount Penang with the Juvenile Centre and High School
along with the preschool and beautiful Mount Penang Gardens.
As a resident of the mountain area all of my life, being raised here
and then raising my own family, I would not like to see the area
spoilt for future generations and families enjoying some small rural
lifestyle that they have worked hard for - only to be ruined by this
type of enterprise that appears to have no regard for long standing
residents or their health.

We do not need to breath in toxic silica dust etc. This should not be
anywhere close to where there are families living !