Eleventh International Conference on The Constructed Environment

Abstract

The demand for granite and other decorative stones is increasing (Gupta, 2018). But research shows that granite quarrying constitutes an occupational hazard that compromises workers’ health, destroys the environment and negatively affects nearby communities (Ibrahim et al.,2019; Oktriani, Darmajanti, & Soesilo, 2017; Shaik, Afroze, Latha, Kabir Khan, Khatoon & Reddy, 2015; Sasikala & Chandran, 2015). According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, in the United States, almost half of granite imports comes from Brazil (2013). In the Northeast, granite production comes from an impoverished rural area heavily affected by drought. The São Pedro River Valley is part of this rural area. It is a semi-arid region known as Sertão, in which the unique caatinga biome is predominant. Environmentally, over the last decades, studies revealed factors that have severely altered and compromised the Sertão’s unique yet fragile ecosystem (Quintão et al., 2017). However, despite patent land destruction, water contamination and scarcity, coupled with rural communities’ distress, the effects of granite extraction in the São Pedro River Valley remain scientifically unknown. The purpose of this study was to close this research gap. Data collection was IRB approved and involved testimonies from rural communities living in the São Pedro River Valley. The data emanated from unstructured focus groups comprising 25 individuals and was cross-referenced with a soil analysis, insights of a research associate, recent images and video recordings of the area. This case study provided an in-depth understanding of an economic activity that compromises the sustainability and equitability of the human-environmental balance.