Following the installation of a new kiln firing system at the works in Barrington, there has been a reduction of over 30 per cent in oxides of nitrogen (NOx). Additional benefits show the new system requires significantly less fuel, leading to a ten per cent reduction in the emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the works.
The new sophisticated firing system also makes it possible to optimise the flame and is well suited to increase the use of alternative fuels, to improve environmental performance in the cement kiln.
Pre-historic remains donated to Natural History Museum
After discovering the remains of an Icthyosaur at the Barrington site, the find has been donated to the Natural History Museum in London. Icthyosaurs were marine reptiles that lived at the same time as dinosaurs. They lived in the world’s oceans and became extinct 90 million years ago. The remains of the Icthyosaur were found at the chalk quarry last year (2005). Left to right: Quarry Manager John Drayton with Andrew Currant, Collection Manager of Vertebrates at the museum.
40 years of visits from Cambridge University
In 2006, Barrington plant welcomed Cambridge University students for the 40th year running. The students, who are studying Civil Engineering, paid their annual visit to the quarry in Barrington for course research.
The 45 undergraduates were accompanied by a team of university researchers to carry out field studies by looking at the different rock types and fossils in the chalk pit in the quarry.
Archaeological survey unearths Roman quarries
The remains of two Roman quarries have been found in the Barrington. Chalk is a raw material used in the manufacturing of cement at the plant, and the find was unearthed as part of an archaeological survey which was carried out prior to extraction in a new area of the quarry.
While it is well known that chalk has been excavated in Barrington for nearly 80 years, it now seems likely that the tradition of excavating chalk for building materials on site could have been started by our predecessors 1800 years ago.
