Explosives! A specialized mining tool.

• Author: Anderson, Tasha
• Position: MINING SPECIAL SECTION / DEMOLITION

It's not surprising that the federal government has a few regulations regarding the use of explosives in mining: 30 CFR, Part 15 (approval of explosives and sheathed explosive units): 30 CFR Part 56, Subpart E (safety and health standards: surface metal and non-metal mines: explosives); 30 CFR Part 57, Subpart E (safety and health standards: underground metal and nonmetal mines: explosives): 30 CFR Part 75, Subpart N (mandatory safety standards: underground coal mines: explosives and blasting); and 30 CFR Part 77, Subpart N (mandatory safety standards: surface coal mines and surface work areas of underground coal mines: explosives and blasting) cover the bulk of it.

National entities such as the Mine Safety and Health Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement all have a part in ensuring that explosives used above or below ground in the pursuit of any commodity are handled in a way that is safe for workers and the environment.

Regulating Risk

And then on the state level, the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development also has input as to who blows up what (and when and how).

One significant requirement at the state level is that "all employees doing excavation, tunnel, quarry, earth removal, or construction work, and who are emplacing explosives for detonation, installing primers, fuses, wires, or other means of detonation, or detonating explosives, are required to obtain a certificate of fitness for explosive handlers."

This certificate is granted only to an individual (not a company or organization) who is over the age of eighteen and "is found competent by reason of training, experience, criminal history and background check, and physical fitness." That individual then needs to have the certificate on his or her person whenever handling explosives.

A certificate of fitness is valid for three years, but may be cancelled at any time "for cause" by the Department.

Turns out, explosions can be high risk.

Those risks differ from site to site. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, "Detonating explosives release toxic gases, primarily oxides of nitrogen and carbon monoxide. Nitric oxide (NO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) are produced by large surface blasts in which the explosive does not detonate properly. NO released by the detonation oxidizes to NO2 as the fumes mix with the...