MAKKAH – Cutting of rocks from Makkah mountains for development projects in the holy city would have at least 10 dangerous consequences, according to a scientific study conducted by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Institute for Haj and Umrah Research. Dr. Turki Habeebullah, head of environment and health research at the institute, said the breaking of rocks would have a negative impact on the city's ecology at short-term as well as long-term. "Firstly, it will lead to landslide, damaging nearby buildings," he pointed out. Speaking to Okaz/Saudi Gazette, he said such landslides would also endanger lives of people in the neighborhood. "The use of explosives and heavy equipment for breaking rocks would create minor tremors, which would have a destructive impact with the passage of time." The razing of mountains to level the land and blocking of natural flood path would have a negative effect on the movement of surface water at times of heavy rains. New pathways created by torrential floods would endanger lives of residents and change the region's hydrology, he added. The unloading of unwanted rocks in a haphazard manner would create geotechnical dangers and increase the level of dust and pollutants in the air, Habeebullah said. "It will also lead to the spread of radon gas, which is a reason for developing lung cancer," he added. The health hazard from radon does not come primarily from the gas itself but rather from the radioactive products formed in the decay of radon. Lung cancer is the only observed consequence of high-concentration radon exposures. "Sound pollution is another problem caused by rock breaking," Habeebullah said, adding that it would affect the lives of people in the neighborhood, especially students at schools and patients at hospitals. "The total or partial removal of mountains for leveling the ground would affect the city's ecological balance and damage its historical value," he pointed out. He also cautioned authorities against the use of substandard equipment used for breaking rocks in the region.
