Very real fears exist within the community about the health implications of the proposed quarry and excavation workings, not least among which are fears of an increased risk and incidence of asthma and respiratory conditions caused by airborne particles and severe aggravation of stress related illnesses and disabilities.

The quarrying works will potentially give rise to small particles to the air, known as PM10. These can be seriously detrimental to the health of those who inhale them.
PM10 are fine particles suspended in the atmospheric air which due to their size and aerodynamic characteristics are able to be inhaled and reach the lungs. Unlike other well known pollutants which are single well defined chemical substances, this pollutant is characterised by its physical properties, and may be of different chemical costituents depending on its source.
PM10 particles arise from a number of natural and man made sources, and top of the list of the primary man made sources are mining, quarrying and construction operations.

As well as aggravating existing respiratory conditions among those who are already vulnerable and susceptable, there are fears amongst the community that PM10 could also lead to more serious conditions such as Silicosis. This is not a recently discovered or fad disease. Silicosis (also known as Grinders Disease and Potters Rust) has been recognised and understood since 1705, when it was discovered by the Italian physician Bernardino Ramazzini who noticed the existence of sand like substances in the lungs of stonemasons.
This damage to the lung tissue means the lungs can't perform their function of supplying oxygen to the blood as well as they should. The symptoms resulting from this include a cough, with or without sputum, shortness of breath, particularly on exertion, and chest tightness.
In the most common form of the disease, these symptoms develop over many years of exposure, as the lung tissue becomes irreversibly damaged by fibrosis and is replaced with solid nodules of scar tissue.
In the rarer form, the symptoms develop quickly after only a short period of exposure to high levels of PM10. People with this acute form usually die within a year.
The damage suffered by the lungs leaves a person susceptible to lung infections, and to Tuberculosis in particular.

Obviously, in our modern litigious society, no expense is spared to protect employees and workers from the effects of airborne PM10 particles, most notably being the use of personal protective clothing and equipment, including filtration masks and respiratory equipment.
However, this equipment is only issued to those who are working with the materials. People who are only exposed to the particles for around 8 hours a day.
No consideration is given to those people who's homes and gardens overlook the quarry, and who are forced to breathe in the PM10 particles 24 hours a day.

Is this really what we want?

There are more resources on PM10 and Silicosis and its effects at the following websites.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PM10
http://www.bbc.co.uk/health/conditions/silicosis1.shtml
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silicosis
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs238/en/

Of course, respiratory illness is a danger that exists at some point in the future. There's a much more imminent and sinister health risk facing Pentney's residents as a result of the quarry proposal.

I'm talking about STRESS.

Stress is a real and recognised medical condition. We suffer from low levels of stress every single day of our lives, and in most cases we have developed personal strategies for dealing with it, but occasionally something will happen that simply overwhelms us and renders our defences impotent - and that's when we get ill.

So what exactly is stress?
Well, stress is our body's way of dealing with dangerous or frightening situations. It's a direct result of the Fight Or Flight response that exists in all animals, including humans.
When we're exposed to danger, fear or anxiety, our bodies become flooded with the stress hormones adrenaline and cortisol. Between them, they increase the heart rate, raise the blood pressure, boost energy supplies to our bloodstream, and increase the substances that repair tissues.
Cortisol also has some other interesting effects on the body. It dampens down the systems we don't need when we're running for our lives - our digestive, immune, reproductive and growth systems.

Once the danger has passed, the stress hormones decrease and everything gets back to normal. Which is fine, as long as the danger passes.
But when we're under pressure all the time, those stress hormones remain elevated in our bodies, causing long term damage to our health, and some very unpleasant symptoms.

Of course, it's not actual danger that releases these hormones into our bodies. It's our perception of events (how we think and feel about them) that actually causes the chemical and psychological responses.
In simple terms, this means that our bodies can release stress hormones as a result of fear, anxiety, fatigue, real danger, or even a misunderstood situation.
So, for example, spending eight months worrying about the noise, dirt and disruption of a potential quarry - the fear of an unknown outcome - anxiety about damage to your property and damage to your health - and the general feeling of not being in control of your own destiny are exactly the sort of factors that will cause the human body to release stress hormones.

Current medical opinion suggests that 96% of all illness in this country is either a direct result of stress, or greatly aggravated by it. The majority of people know what the basics of stress look like, but we often miss the more intricate workings of stress on the body and mind.
Some of the common symptoms of stress include irritability, anger, anxiety, depression, fatigue, headaches, stomachaches, hypertension, migraines, ulcers, heart conditions and colitis.
If it is left unchecked, stress can eventually lead to even more serious illness such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes or thyroid dysfunction.

So, what's the solution?
Well, as it happens, it couldn't be simpler.
To prevent stress and reverse its effects, you simply remove the source of danger or aggravation and the stress will evaporate with it.

Still not simple enough for you?
You take away the threat of a quarry in Pentney village. This will reduce the stress levels in the village, and will ultimately save lives.