Debunking the myths

Cancer? The dust from our quarry is not a cancer threat. The limestone in our quarry doesn’t have the high levels of silica found in other mineral deposits elsewhere around the world. It’s one of the reasons our quarry has been so successful for more than 150 years. The workers in our facilities are exposed to almost no silica; in fact, their exposure is almost six times below the federal government standard (see Occupational Exposure to Respirable Crystalline Silica rule). 

Dust? You don’t see dust from our quarry causing big problems. Yes, we do controlled blasting, and that can cause dust, but remember, our quarry is in a big pit. If the wind picks up, it either blows over the quarry or the dust stays in the pit. When the wind does blow dust out of the pit it dissipates quickly. Like our current quarry, our new quarry is away from town and away from where a lot of people live. We hardly ever get complaints about dust.

Vibrations? Our quarry does not cause widespread vibrations. When vibrations are generated, they dissipate exponentially the farther you are from the source. Our current quarry is 1.7 miles from the Upper Valley Medical Center and has never generated a complaint.  Our new quarry is virtually the same distance away as our current quarry.

Dangerous? Piqua Materials has a sterling safety reputation in the industry and in the community. We train our team carefully, use modern equipment that we maintain carefully, and use all the latest safety and health gear. For the last three consecutive years, Piqua Materials has received the highest designation (Platinum) in the Excellence in Safety Awards from the Ohio Aggregates & Industrial Minerals Association (OAIMA). 

The federal Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) inspects our facilities at least twice per year, and in the past three consecutive years, we have had no reportable injuries, no significant and substantial violations, and the number of minor findings by MSHA in our facilities during that time is better than two-thirds of all the other similar quarries in the country. We have never received the most serious citation from the agency (a withdrawal order), and we have never had a worker fatality in our facilities.