Limestone quarrying and air cond chicken coops

[Guest guest]

The Sunday Times.

 

Limestone quarrying has long been carried out south of the Niah National Park in

Miri, Sarawak. It is little known to those living outside Sarawak. It was

brought to the attention of the New Sunday Times' attention earlier by a

researcher working at another national park in the Miri Division.

Presently there are two quarries in operation near the southern boundary of the

national park. According to information provided by the State Forestry

Department, the Garugok Batu quarry has been in operations since 1979. Its

licence expires in 2004. The second quarry, Thumb Up, began operations in 1999

and its licence expires in February next year.

The Niah Caves were declared a National Historic Monument in 1958. The national

park, covering 3 138 hectares was gazetted in 1974. The quarrying is legal and

from maps of the area, appears to be too far away from the caves to inflict any

damage. The 394m high Gunung Subis in between also appears as a buffer. What's

not clear is whether the quarries lie within the park boundary or outside it.

The researcher, a foreigner, said the quarrying was being conducted within the

park.

The impact of rock blasting has yet to be determined on the surrounding

ecosystem, the swiftlets and the caves. The researcher expressed concern how

extensively the area's cave system has been explored. A local expert on

swiftlets said the birds were quite sensitive to vibrations. He noted that it

remained inconclusive as to whether the quarrying in the south could contribute

to the population decline of the birds. (A decade ago, the Niah swiftlet

populating was estimated at half a million. Today it is half that). No study

has been done to determine whether blasting at the quarry can cause the

swiftlets to abandon their nests. Over-exploitation of birds' nest by illegal

poachers has been a major factor in the population decline.

 

About 0.5% of Malaysia is covered in karst - limestone that is above ground

level - and its uniqueness and scarcity are reasons enough to conserve it, said

a geologist. " Yet limestone is also an important mineral, used in more than 100

industries from paper to construction. There is a conflict here. Limestone is

important for industrial and it will be difficult to convince States not to

quarry them. But because of its scarcity, in principle all karst should be

conserved. He suggested an alternative to traditional rock-blasting method

which is prone to cause landslips - sub surface mining. This method would also

yield more limestone as karst represented only the tip of more limestone

underground. While more costly, sub-surface mining is more systematic and easier

to contain. " Karst terrain derives its beauty from being the only kind of rock

that can be shaped by solutioning - water forms its caves and formations

(stalactites and stalagmites) inside.

 

New Sunday Times 9.12.01.

 

Despite grouses raised by certain quarters, the state government is fixed in its

stand to have air con coops.

There have been too many complaints of flies and stench from chicken coops.

Breeders complained that the new system of air-conditioning their coops is

expensive. But there is no alternative.

 

All chicken coops will be fully air-conditioned in a year or two. It eliminates

the problem of odour and also cost effective and an effective way to preserve

the environment. At present only 10% of the breeders in Negri Sembilan had

installed air-conditioners. The use of air conditioning could increase the

number of chickens that were reared. " If 5 000 chickens can be reared at any

one time in an open coop system, air conditioning will enable 10 000 to be

reared in coop, " said the MB of Nrgri Sembilan..

 

There have been too many complaints of flies and stench from chicken coops.

Breeders complained that the new system of air-conditioning their coops is

expensive. But there is no alternative.

A poultry farm which air-conditions its chicken coops has found that the number

of the animals the coops can accommodate has doubled. The fully air-conditioned

coop can contain the smell and can sustain 10 000 chickens compared to a

non-air-conditioned coop which sustains only 5 000 chickens. This is not only

cost effective but productive for the industry as well.

 

A letter from a reader with regards to the cooling problems faced by poultry

farmers.

 

I am a mechanical engineer specialising in air-conditioning and ventilation for

commercial and industrial buildings. The farmers can greatly reduce heat from

the roof by employing simple insulation methods instead of three layers of zinc

sheets as reported. They should use one layer of galvanized iron, followed by

thick rock wool (glass fibre is another, but is considered a health hazard) and

then by metal decks. This will greatly reduce the heat compared to three layers

of zinc sheets. I also noticed that tall table fans are used for ventilation.

These fans do not have the capacity to push enough air to significantly cool the

area and are simply not effective.

Properly arranged ventilation fans will be more effective in cooling the coop.

Air-conditioning systems may be an over-kill and may increase the price of

chicken, which is not favorable to the consumer.