DIRE warnings predicting the end of Britain's quarry industry have been dismissed by quarry operators in West Devon and East Cornwall.

The Quarry Products Association has said that new Government proposals on noise reduction, if adopted, would shut down the country's quarries within five years.

Proposed noise limits will be more stringent than they have been up to now under the DETR consultation paper. In some cases the proposed limits will be such that a quarry operation may not be heard over background noise and QPA director general Simon van der Byl said rural quarries will have to operate at noise levels below that of a public library by 2004.

'These new proposals would devastate the quarrying industry and make most quarries inoperable,' he said. 'If the Government presses ahead we will be unable to supply our customers in the construction industry and elsewhere. 40,000 jobs, mainly in rural areas, will be lost.'

The proposals suggest a level of 42 decibels with a further reduction of 5dB in the next five years — the noise level in a library is typically around 40dB.

However, David Weeks, spokesman for Hanson which owns the Hingston Down quarry near St Ann's Chapel in East Cornwall, said the QPA was looking at a 'Doomsday scenario'.

'This is a consultation document and even if the proposals are enacted, which is doubtful, they are only guidelines for the local authorities,' he said. 'We don't fear for the future of the industry.'

Mr Weeks was scathing about the 'ludicrous' noise limit figure the Government seemed to have 'plucked out of thin air', which would single out quarrying from other rural industries.

'We're after a level playing field. If the regulations were forced on farmers the cock wouldn't be able to crow in the morning,' he said. 'Why should we have to operate in silence when other rural industries don't?'

But Mr Weeks said he was sure the Government would see sense.

Hingston Down has been the recipient of major investment by the company recently to upgrade the quarry's environmental performance, including noise and dust levels.

Mr Weeks said they had not received a single complaint about noise at the site since the works.

'Most of the complaints are about lorries and truck movements — we've not had any about noise in the last 12 months,' he said.

A spokeswoman for Aggregate Industries, which runs Meldon Quarry, near Okehampton, said the document was still only a draft and the figures, which a number of environmental noise consultants had queried, were yet to be confirmed.

She said they would clearly be affected by the new proposals, but had committed to fully comply with any new legislation.

David Tidmarsh, managing director of Aggregate Industries' UK operations, said: 'Aggregate Industries recognises its environmental responsibility at all its sites around the UK and is fully committed to implementing and developing its environmental policies.'

He said compliance with the new noise proposals would not only put additional stringent controls on business operations, but would also incur extra costs to the business.

'However, as a significant national operator, we have a responsibility to the continuous improvement of our environmental performance which we are very dedicated to, and I can confirm that we are committed to fully comply with any new legislation that is introduced,' he said.