RESIDENTS in Kingsteignton have raised fears about what they believe is dust escaping from a nearby quarry that could be a serious health risk.

The Save Our Trees action group has collated what it claims to be evidence that dust from the Preston quarry in Kingsteignton is being spread around the local area.

Campaigners fears the dust’s quartz content could be potentially carcinogenic.

The health fears have sparked a further battle against potential plans for another quarry that would involve the removal of a large, mature woodland.

Sibelco did not respond to a request for comment.

Holland Risley, one of the lead campaigners, said the group had filmed a lorry “kicking up visible dust onto the public highway next to Kingsteignton school’.

‘Google imagery shows there has been dust on the road over multiple years.

‘All clay contains up to 30 per cent quartz, and when it dries and gets disturbed, it produces a respirable crystalline silica, a group 1 carcinogen, that can be linked to COPD and lung cancer,” he said.

Mr Risley said given dust was escaping this site, it was “not credible” that quarrying closer to the town at the potential new site would be a sensible solution.

“A Devon County Council dust assessment states the smallest particles can cause many health issues and can travel over one kilometre, yet approved monitoring is only on larger visible ones.’

He added he had not been able to find evidence of dust monitoring by the council near the school or the settlement edge.

“The council is not a bystander, but has the power to say that a location is fundamentally unsuitable,” he said.

“At the very least, it should review existing permissions that have not been worked for over 100 years, such as at the rugby club and fishing lakes in the town, and extinguish them.”

A spokesperson for Devon County Council said it had not previously had complaints about the dust.

“But we are currently working with Sibelco, the environmental health officer at Teignbridge Council as well as the public health team to assess the complaint,” the spokesperson said.

So far, there has been no formal application for the potential new quarry.

“A scoping opinion was requested by Sibelco under the Environmental Impact Assessment Regulations,” the Devon County Council spokesperson added.

In August, Teignbridge District Council issue a tree preservation order onto trees at the site of another quarry off Broadway Road.

Sibelco objected, stating it has planning permission to extract “nationally and internationally important ball clays from beneath the land which is known as Zitherixon Quarry”, and that it had been subject to prior mineral workings granted by Devon County Council.

“The planning permission permits the loss of trees to facilitate further quarry workings,” the letter states.

The letter from David Walton, director for sustainability at Sibelco, added the council “provided no evidence” to justify the claim the trees contribute to the visual amenity of the area.

“Nor has the council provided any arboricultural assessment of the trees on the site,” the letter added.

However, the scoping opinion from 2023, states while there are several permissions that include parts of Zitherixon, the main permission was then considered by DCC to have ‘lapsed'.