Smoking Gun Evidence - Toxic Dust Released Alongside Kingsteignton School
Action Needed - Please write emails of complaint today!
The campaign has now recorded a video of a Sibelco quarry truck exiting Preston Quarry and kicking up visible plumes of cancer causing dust [12][9] onto the public road, plus we’ve found that Google Maps images show white clay dust tracked across junctions on multiple dates.
Now we need as many people as possible to turn that evidence into formal email complaints that sit on the official record before and during the quarry planning process.
The evidence pack we've submitted to HSE, DCC and TDC is here.
Why this matters
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Government documentation states that ball clay quarrying creates fine mineral dust during transport and loading.
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Clay quarry dust contains 15-30% Quartz, and when clay dries and fractures it releases respirable crystalline silica (RCS), a well-recognised respiratory hazard associated with silicosis, COPD, asthma exacerbation and even long-term risk of lung cancer [12].
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There are hundreds of homes, and multiple schools within a few hundred metres of the haul routes and proposed workings. One school playing field is right next to this junction.
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Devon County Council's own Bovey basin dust review says that the smaller particles travel a kilometre or more, and cause health issues [11].
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Dust escaping regularly from trucks and the site is a public health and public nuisance issue, not just “clay on the road”. This junction is kicking up toxic dust every day with hundreds of HGVs a week.
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If enough residents raise this formally, it creates a documented pattern that must be taken into account in any quarry planning decision.
Copy, paste and send complaint
Please copy and paste the template below and add your own dust issues too if needed.
Fill in the Teignbridge Environmental Health Dust Complaint Form Here
Optional - For bonus points:
Email Devon County Council – Minerals Planning Team
Complaint template contents
Subject: Quarry Dust Evidence - Pollution Complaint - Sibelco Lower Preston Quarry
Email body (copy and paste)
To whom it may concern,
I am a resident of Kingsteignton and I am writing to formally raise concerns about quarry related dust pollution arising from Sibelco’s Preston Quarry and associated HGV movements.
This complaint relates to both visible dust and fine airborne particulate matter affecting residential streets, pavements, and routes used daily by children and families.
I have reviewed video footage recorded by a local resident showing a quarry HGV exiting Lower Preston and producing visible dust plumes on Exeter Road. The footage clearly shows dust rising from the vehicle wheels into the air at approximately head height of a small child, adjacent to a pedestrian crossing island and within close proximity of a school playing field.
I have also reviewed publicly available Google Street View images of this junction and nearby locations. Across multiple dates over several years, these images show white, clay like material tracked across the carriageway. This appearance is consistent with repeated quarry vehicle track out rather than an isolated incident.
Taken together, this evidence indicates that:
• Quarry related dust is escaping onto the public highway and into the surrounding air environment
• Dust release is recurring and ongoing, not a one off event
• HGV movements are repeatedly re suspending dust in areas used by pedestrians, cyclists, homes, and schools
My concern is not limited to visible dust. Devon County Council’s Southacre evidence confirms that fine particulate dust associated with mineral extraction and haulage can travel one kilometre or more and is linked to a range of adverse health effects. The smallest particles are often not visible but present the greatest risk.
As a resident, I am concerned about:
• Dust entering my home and settling on external surfaces
• Exposure to fine airborne particles in the local environment
• Children walking and cycling along these routes on a daily basis
• The absence of local air quality or particulate monitoring
• Ongoing uncertainty and anxiety about what is being inhaled and over what duration
Government guidance confirms that ball clay dust contains respirable crystalline silica, a substance known to cause serious long term health conditions. The combination of proximity, frequency of HGV movements, and lack of monitoring makes this a legitimate environmental and public health concern.
I therefore ask that you:
- Acknowledge this complaint and provide a reference number
- Investigate dust escape and track out from Preston Quarry and associated HGV movements
- Consider the cumulative, area wide impact on residents and children, not just individual properties
- Confirm what action will be taken to prevent further dust escape and protect public health
This complaint is made in good faith and based on publicly available evidence as well as established Devon County Council documentation. I am copying this correspondence to other relevant bodies so that the issue is formally recorded.
Attachments and evidence:
• Evidence pack: https://tinyurl.com/toxic-sibelco
• Video footage: https://youtu.be/GdHSyjgm2nM
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Yours faithfully,
[Your full name]
[Full postal address]
[Postcode]
[Email address]
We need your voice...
We need you to say "I have seen this video and these Google images, and I am concerned enough to ask the authorities to investigate and act".
That alone is useful. If you also have evidence such as photos of quarry dust on our cars or windows please also include this with your complaint emails as well. The more complaint emails that get sent the better for our case for stopping the quarry expansion.
Tell us when you have done it - optional
Once you have sent your emails just let us know:
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Please forward one of the sent emails or a quick note to
contact@saveourtrees.org.uk with the subject “Dust complaint sent”. -
This helps us keep a count of how many formal complaints have gone in.
Thanks for taking the time to do this. It really does make a difference. 🌳✨
Invisible RCS particles can have cumulative effects and cause long term lung disease
[1] Devon Minerals Plan Policy M6 (Ball Clay in the Bovey Basin) – Devon County Council
[2] Teignbridge Local Plan Policies EN2A and EN12 – Teignbridge District Council
[3] Environmental Protection Act 1990 s.79–80 – Statutory Nuisance
[4] Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 s.3 – Duties to non employees
[5] HSE Silica Dust Guidance (INDG463)
[6] IAQM Guidance on the Assessment of Mineral Dust Impacts from Mineral Extraction (2016)
[7] Scottish Government PAN 50 Annex B – Airborne Mineral Dust
[8] British Geological Survey Ball Clay Factsheet
[10] National Planning Policy Framework (Dec 2024) – Air quality and public health
[11] Environmental Dust Impact Assessment, Bovey Basin (2007) – Southacre Quarry ROMP
[12] HSE COSHH essentials in quarries: Silica for quarry managers (Ball Clay Contains 15-30% RCS)
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