10 CSR 40-3.050 - Requirements for the Use of Explosives
PURPOSE: This rule sets forth the requirements for the use of explosives pursuant to 444.855, RSMo.
(1) General Requirements.
(A) Each operator shall comply with all
applicable state and federal laws and regulations in the use of
explosives.
(B) Blasts that use
more than five (5 lbs.) pounds of explosive or blasting agent shall be
conducted according to the schedule required by section (3) of this
rule.
(C) Blasters.
1. Prior to the approval by the federal
office of surface mining of a blaster certification program designated to
regulate and document the quality of persons responsible for the removal of
coal overburden by means of explosives in Missouri, all these operations shall
be conducted by experienced, trained and competent persons who understand the
hazards involved. By July 1, 1989 all blasting operations in Missouri shall be
conducted under the direction of a certified blaster.
2. A blaster and at least one (1) other
person shall be present at the firing of a blast.
3. Any person responsible for conducting
blasting operations at a blasting site shall-
A. Be familiar with the blasting plan and
site specific performance standards;
B. Give direction and on-the-job training to
persons who are not certified and who are assigned to the blasting crew or
assist in the use of explosives.
(D) Blast Design.
1. An anticipated blast design shall be
submitted if blasting operations will be conducted within-
A. One thousand feet (1000') of any building
used as a dwelling, public building, school, church, community, institutional
building or dam outside the permit area including those listed in paragraph
(5)(D)1.; or
B. Five hundred feet
(500') of an active or abandoned underground mine.
2. The blast design may be presented either
as part of a permit application or thirty (30) days before the initiation of
blasting approved by the director or commission.
3. The blast design shall contain sketches of
the drill patterns, delay periods and decking, and shall indicate the type and
amount of explosives to be used, critical dimensions and the location and
general description of structures to be protected, as well as a discussion of
design factors to be used, which protect the public and meet the applicable
airblast, flyrock and ground vibration standards in section (5) of this
rule.
4. The blast design shall be
prepared and signed by a certified blaster.
5. The director or commission may require
changes to the design submitted.
(2) Use of Explosives: Preblasting Survey.
(A) At least forty (40) days before
initiation of blasting, the operator shall ensure that all residents or owners
of public buildings, schools, churches, community or institutional buildings,
dwellings, dams or other structures, including those listed in paragraph
(5)(D)1., located within one-half (1/2) mile of the permit area are notified by
certified letter how to request a preblast survey.
(B) A resident or owner of a dwelling or
structure within one-half (1/2) mile of any part of the permit area may request
a pre-blasting survey. This request shall be made, in writing, directly to the
operator or to the director or commission who shall promptly notify the
operator. The operator shall ensure that a prompt preblast survey of the
dwelling or structure will be conducted and that a written report of the survey
is promptly prepared. The operator shall ensure that an updated survey of any
additions, modifications or renovations shall be performed if requested by the
resident or owner.
(C) The operator
shall ensure that the condition of the dwelling or structure be determined and
that any preblasting damage and other physical factors that could reasonably be
affected by the blasting be documented. Structures such as pipelines, cables,
transmission lines and cisterns, wells and other water systems warrant special
attention; however, the assessment of these structures may be limited to
surface conditions and other readily available data.
(D) The written report of the survey shall be
signed by the person who conducted the survey. Copies of the report shall be
promptly provided to the director or commission and to the person requesting
the survey. If the person requesting the survey disagrees with the contents,
recommendations, or both, contained in the report, s/he may submit to both the
operator and the director or commission a detailed description of the specific
areas of disagreement within forty-five (45) days of receipt of the
survey.
(E) The operator shall
ensure that any surveys requested more than ten (10) days before the planned
initiation of blasting shall be completed before the initiation of
blasting.
(F) The operator shall
ensure that the director or commission is provided a list of all people
outlined in subsection (2)(A), including their addresses. The list shall
distinguish between persons who have agreed to a preblast survey and those who
have refused a survey.
(G) The
operator shall ensure that the property owner be made aware that the pre-blast
survey will be made at no cost to the property owner.
(3) Use of Explosives: Blasting Schedule.
(A) General Requirements.
1. The operator shall ensure that blasting
operations are conducted at times approved by the director or commission and
announced in the blasting schedule. The director or commission may limit the
area covered, timing and sequence of blasting as listed in the schedule, if
these limitations are necessary and reasonable in order to protect the public
health and safety or welfare.
2.
All blasting shall be conducted between sunrise and sunset, unless nighttime
blasting is approved by the director or commission based upon a showing by the
operator that the public will be protected from adverse noise and other
impacts. The director or commission may specify more restrictive time periods
for blasting.
3. Unscheduled blasts
may be conducted only where public or operator health and safety so require and
for emergency blasting actions. When an operator conducts an unscheduled blast,
the operator, using audible signals, shall notify residents within one-half
(1/2) mile of the blasting site and document the reason for the unscheduled
blast in accordance with section (6) of this rule.
(B) Blasting Schedule Publication and
Distribution.
1. The operator shall publish
the blasting schedule in a newspaper of general circulation in the locality of
the blasting site at least ten (10), but not more than thirty (30), days before
beginning a blasting program.
2.
The operator shall distribute copies of the schedule to local governments and
public utilities and to each local residence within one-half (1/2) mile of the
proposed blasting site described in the schedule and to the director as soon as
it has been published.
3. The
operator shall republish and redistribute the schedule at least every twelve
(12) months and revise and republish the schedule at least ten (10), but not
more than thirty (30) days, before blasting whenever the area covered by the
schedule changes or actual time periods for blasting significantly differ from
the prior announcement.
(C) Blasting Schedule Contents. The blasting
schedule, at a minimum shall contain-
1.
Name, address and telephone number of operator;
2. Identification of the specific areas in
which blasting will take place;
3.
Dates and time periods when explosives are to be detonated;
4. Methods to be used to control access to
the blasting area; and
5. Type and
patterns of audible warning and all clear signals to be used before and after
blasting.
(4)
Use of Explosives: Blasting Signs, Warnings and Access Control.
(A) Blasting Signs. Blasting signs shall meet
the specifications of signs and markers outlined in 10 CSR 40-3.010(1). In
addition, the operator shall-
1. Place
conspicuous signs reading Blasting Area along the edge of any blasting area
that comes within one hundred feet (100') of any public road right-of-way and
at the point where any other road provides access to the blasting area;
and
2. Place, at all entrances to
the permit area from public roads or highways, conspicuous signs which state
"Warning! Explosives in Use." clearly listing and describing the meaning of the
audible blast warning and all-clear signals that are in use and which
explaining the marking of blasting areas and loaded or charged holes awaiting
firing within the permit area.
(B) Warnings. Warning and all-clear signals
of different character or pattern that are audible within a range of one-half
(1/2) mile from the point of the blast shall be given. Each person within the
permit area and each person who resides or regularly works within one-half
(1/2) mile of the permit area shall be notified of the meaning of the signals
in the blasting schedule.
(C)
Access Control. Access within the blasting area shall be controlled to prevent
presence of livestock or unauthorized persons during blasting and until an
authorized representative of the operator has reasonably determined that-
1. No unusual hazards, such as imminent
slides or undetonated charges exist; and
2. Access to and travel within the blasting
area can be safely resumed.
(5) Use of Explosives: Control of Adverse
Effects.
(A) General
Requirements. Blasting shall be conducted to prevent injury to persons, damage
to public or private property outside the permit area, adverse impacts on any
underground mine, and change in the course, channel or availability of surface
or ground water outside the permit area.
(B) Airblast.
1. Limits.
A. Airblast shall not exceed the maximum
limits listed as follows at the location of any dwelling, public building,
school, church or community or institutional building outside the permit area,
except as provided in subsection (5)(E) of this rule:
| Lower frequency limit of measuring system, Hz (=3dB) | Maximum level, in dB |
| 0.1 Hz or lower-flat response* | 134 peak |
| 2 Hz or lower-flat response | 133 peak |
| 6 Hz or lower-flat response | 129 peak |
| C-weighted, slow response* | 105 peak |
| dBC |
*Only when approved by the commission or director
B. If necessary to prevent damage,
the director or commission shall specify lower maximum allowable airblast
levels than those of subparagraph (5)(B)1.A. of this rule for use in the
vicinity of a specific blasting operation.
2. Monitoring.
A. The operator shall ensure that one (1)
blast every twelve (12) months is monitored at the nearest uncontrolled
structure to ensure compliance with the airblast standards. The record, as per
section (6) of this rule, of this monitored event shall be submitted to the
director no later than January 31 of each year for the year being monitored.
The director or commission may require airblast measurement of any or blasts
and may specify the locations at which the measurements are taken.
B. The measuring systems shall have an upper
end flat frequency response of at least two hundred hertz (200 Hz).
(C) Flyrock. Flyrock
traveling in the air or along the ground shall not be cast from the blasting
site-
1. Either more than one-half (1/2) the
distance to the nearest dwelling or other occupied structure or beyond the
permit boundary, whichever is the lesser; or
2. Beyond the area of control required under
subsection (4)(C).
(D)
Ground Vibration.
1. General. In all blasting
operations, except as otherwise authorized in subsection (5)(E) of this rule,
the maximum ground vibration shall not exceed the values approved in the
blasting plan required under 10 CSR 40-6.050(4). The maximum ground vibration
for protected structures listed in subparagraph (5)(D)2.A. of this rule shall
be established in accordance with either the maximum peak particle velocity
limits of paragraph (5)(D)2., the scaled distance equation of paragraph
(5)(D)3., the blasting level chart of paragraph (5)(D)4. of this rule or by the
commission or director under paragraph (5)(D)5. of this rule. All structures in
the vicinity of the blasting area, not listed in sub-paragraph (5)(D)2.A. of
this rule, such as water towers, pipelines, transmission lines and other
utilities, tunnels, dams, impoundments and underground mines, shall be
protected from damage by establishment of a maximum allowable limit on the
ground vibration, submitted by the operator in the blasting plan and approved
by the commission or director.
2.
Maximum peak particle velocity.
A. The
maximum ground vibration shall not exceed the following limits at the location
of any dwelling, public building, school, church, community or institutional
building outside the permit area:
| Distance (D), from the blasting site, in feet | Maximum allowable peak particle velocity (Vmax) for ground vibration,in inches/ second* | Scaled-distance factor to be applied without seismic monitor- ing** (Ds) |
| 0-300 | 1.25 | 50 |
| 301-5000 | 1.00 | 55 |
| 5001 and beyond | 0.75 | 65 |
*Ground vibration shall be measured as the particle velocity. Particle velocity shall be recorded in three (3) mutually perpendicular directions. The maximum allowable peak particle velocity shall apply to each of the three (3) measurements.
**Applicable to the scaled distance equation of subparagraph (5)(D)3.A. of this rule.
B.
A seismographic record shall be provided for each blast.
3. Scaled distance equation.
A. An operator may use the scaled distance
equation, W = (D/Ds)2, to determine the allowable
charge weight of explosives to be detonated in any eight (8) millisecond
period, without seismic monitoring, where:
W=the maximum weight of explosives, in pounds;
D=the distance, in feet, from the blasting site to the nearest protected structure; and
Ds=the scaled distance factor, which may initially be approved by the commission using the values for scaled distance factor listed in subparagraph (5)(D)2.A. of this rule.
B. The development of a modified scaled
distance factor may be authorized by the director or commission on receipt of a
written request by the operator, supported by seismographic records of blasting
at the mine site. The modified scale distance factor shall be determined such
that the particle velocity of the predicted ground vibration will not exceed
the prescribed maximum allowable peak particle velocity of subparagraph
(5)(D)2.A. of this rule at a ninety-five percent (95%) confidence
level.
4. Blasting level
chart.
A. An operator may use the ground
vibration limits in Figure 1 to determine the maximum allowable ground
vibration.
B. If the Figure 1
limits are used, a seismographic record, including both particle velocity and
vibration frequency levels, shall be provided for each blast. The method for
the analysis of the predominant frequency contained in the blasting records
shall be approved by the director or commission before application of this
alternative blasting criterion.
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5. The maximum allowable ground vibration
shall be reduced by the director or commission beyond the limits otherwise
provided by this section, if determined necessary to provide damage
protection.
6. The director or
commission may require an operator to conduct seismic monitoring of any blasts
or may specify the location at which the measurements are taken and the degree
of detail necessary in the measurement.
(E) The maximum air blast and ground
vibration standards of subsections (5)(B) and (D) of this rule shall not apply
at the following locations:
1. At structures
owned by the permittee and not leased to another person; and
2. At structures owned by the permittee and
leased to another person, if a written waiver by the lessee is submitted to the
director before blasting.
(6) Use of Explosives: Records of Blasting
Operations. The operator shall retain a record of all blasts for at least three
(3) years. Upon request, copies of these records shall be made available to the
director or commission and to the public for inspection. These records shall
contain the following data:
(A) Name of the
operator conducting the blast;
(B)
Location, date and time of the blast;
(C) Name, certification number and signature
of the blaster in charge conducting the blast;
(D) Identification, direction and distance,
in feet, from the nearest blast hole to the nearest dwelling, public building,
school, church, community or institutional building outside the permit area or
those outlined in paragraph (5)(D)1., except those described in subsection
(5)(E);
(E) Weather conditions,
including those which may cause possible adverse blasting effects;
(F) Type of material blasted;
(G) Sketches of the blast pattern including
number of holes, burden, spacing, decks and delay pattern;
(H) Diameter and depth of holes;
(I) Type of explosives used;
(J) Total weight of explosives used per
hole;
(K) The maximum weight of
explosives detonated in an eight (8)-millisecond period;
(L) Initiation system;
(M) Type and length of stemming;
(N) Mats or other protections used;
(O) Seismographic and airblast records, if
required, which shall include:
1. Type of
instrument, sensitivity and calibration signal or certification of annual
calibration;
2. Exact location of
instrument and the date, time and distance from the blast;
3. Name of the person and firm taking the
reading;
4. Name of the person and
firm ana-lyzin0g the seismographic record; and
5. The vibration, air blast level, or both,
recorded; and
(P)
Reasons and conditions for each unscheduled blast.
Notes
*Original authority: 444.530, RSMo 1979, amended 1983, 1990, 1993, 1995; and 444.810, RSMo 1979, amended 1983, 1993, 1995.
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