John posted a thread on this already Mike. http://www.british-filipino.com/index.php?threads/manila-bay-white-sand-project.18549/
The opening shot says it all and it's really good as it confirms what I thought about the location of this artificial beach. Seeing it for real I can't see it lasting through a couple of seasons.
Nothing wrong with dolomite. It is to be found in a good number of places across the globe including in environmentally sensitive areas. Now if there is heaps of fine particles (dust) then that’s a different matter. Silicosis is caused by dust particles of silica. However most beaches across the globe comprise of silica sand and it doesn’t cause harm. My understanding is that the dolomite sand is of a certain minimum particle size. That being the case it isn’t harmful to the environment or the beach goers. Should it have been put in Manila Bay? Maybe not if the water is still filthy. But they apparently are cleaning the water up.
That picture kind of demonstrates what's happening already, you can see the dirt getting filtered into the sand at the waterline. edit: the bay is about 30 miles wide by about 30 miles long and has decades of pollution, it would be great if they could clean it up but that's going to need huge infrastructure investments in sewerage treatment throughout the metropolitan area, there has been a lot of work in terms of implementing new drains over the last decade but in terms of treatment plants I'm not so sure.
That is the problem and thats next stage apparently.. Im no wizard but i would of thought clearing and cleaning the water first before laying this down would of made more sense..
The next phase... https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/multimedia/photo/05/25/21/manila-bay-dolomite-beach-sand