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SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2017
33
Dust Emissions
Good housekeeping
At our Construction Materials & Trading Division, dust emissions are
minimised by regular sweeping of roads, plants and compounds using
sweepers and dampening by water sprinklers, reducing spillage of
product/rawmaterials and the installation of washing bays for lorry tyres.
Upgrading of coal mill system
The upgrades of the coal mill system at CMS Cement Industries
Sdn Bhd in 2013 from a ball mill type that was able to grind a maximum of
15 tonnes per hour to a new coal mill that has a capacity of 22 tonnes per
hour has resulted in lower specific power consumption and lower dust
emissions.
Baghouse Dust Collector
CMS Premix Sdn Bhd’s pollution control system which was changed from
a Venturi Scrubber to a Baghouse Dust Collector in 2015 has resulted in
the following advantages:
• It does not require water to operate
• Dust is recycled back into the asphalt rather than the dust and water
sludge being discharged to the sediment pond
• It achieves zero emissions
Dust emissions readings from our Construction Materials & Trading
Division were similar to its Air Emissions, shown on table on the left.
In addition, PPES Works (Sarawak) Sdn Bhd’s effort to reduce dust
emissions includes washing, cleaning and dewatering of project sites.
Vibrations
In the quarries business, ground vibrations are one of the risk factors to
the surrounding landscape and infrastructure as uncontrolled vibrations
may cause severe damage to nearby utilities and pipelines. When blasting,
CMS Quarries monitors its seismic vibrations in three directions at right
angles to each other – radial, transverse and vertical. Strict control is kept
of explosive charges, depth and numbers of holes per blast. The loose
blasting areas require additional measures.
CMS Quarries recorded average vibration was 6.6 mm/s surpassing the
permissible level of 5 mm/s in 2017. This was because the vibrometer
was installed closer than required. In any case, the number of blast holes
has now been reduced in order to further reduce vibration levels.
At the limestone quarry, which comes under the Group’s Cement
Division, the recorded average vibration was below 2 mm/s.
Across all our quarries, all air blasts recorded were within the Malaysian
Recommended Air Quality Guidelines’ maximum of 12 d(B)A.
BIODIVERSITY
Biodiversity, also known as the enriching or restoring the natural world
is an integral part of our environmental efforts. We are committed to
not only protecting our environment but also to cultivating it and see it
flourish.
The table below encapsulates the Air Quality results of our various
operational sites. These are within the Malaysian Recommended
Environmental Air Quality Guidelines.
Noise Monitoring Results
1
st
Half 2017
2
nd
Half 2017
Location
Day-
time
(d(B)A)
Night-
time
(d(B)A)
Day-
time
(d(B)A)
Night-
time
(d(B)A)
Quarry at Mile 7
49.5
50.1
-
-
Quarry at Mile 9½ -
-
-
-
Quarry at Mile 21
-
-
49.7
50.3
Sibanyis Quarry
58.7
55.7
58.6
50.1
Darul Hana Bridge
-
-
57.6
-
Air Quality Results
Location
Average Total
Suspended Particulate
(µg/m
3
)
Readings taken
during 2017
Quarry at Mile 7
15.1
1
st
Half
Quarry at Mile 21
24.8
2
nd
Half
Sibanyis Quarry
100
74.6
3
rd
Quarter
4
th
Quarter
Noise Monitoring
Based on noise monitoring at Pending, Bintulu, Sibu Bulk Terminal, Miri
Bulk Terminal and the Mambong Integrated Plant, the average noise level
for the Cement Division was 70 d(B)A which is within the recommended
national guidelines. The Cement Division achieved this by the following
actions:
• For transfer chutes: put liners with defector plate and an enlarged
chute size so as to minimise noise levels
• Around the plant’s boundary: plant more trees which help in absorbing
sound and thus reducing noise levels
• For high pressure blowers: install inlet silencers
• For compressor room: install heavy-duty doors
A summary of the noise results at three of CMS Quarries Sdn Bhd’s sites
is presented below. The noise permissible level for day time is 65 d(B)A
and for night time, 55 d(B)A. Wherever effective to reduce noise, air
compressors will be replaced with quieter versions. Noise from blasting
is covered in our vibrations section.
The noise levels for CMS Quarries are an improvement over the previous
year. The noise level during the night is mostly generated by public
vehicles along the main road.
Environment