Controlling the Adverse Effects of Blasting This blaster-training module was put together, under contract, with Federal funds provided by the Office of Technology Transfer, Western Regional Office, Office of Surface Mining, U.S. Department of the Interior, located in Denver, Colorado. The module is an example of the technical assistance the Federal government furnishes States to assist them in meeting the requirements of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977, upon which their State surface coal-mine regulating programs are based. In particular, the module was requested and will be used by the Sheridan District Office, Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality, Land Quality Division. A word of caution: please note that this module is not intended to stand alone, nor is it a self-training type module. Rather, the information the module provides MUST BE SUPPLEMENTED by information given by a certified blasting instructor. DISCLAIMER The technologies described in the module are for information purposes only. The mention herein, of the technologies, companies, or any brand names, does not constitute endorsement by the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Office of Surface Mining. Controlling the Adverse Effects of Blasting This module addresses the control of offsite impacts that result from blasting, namely: • vibrations, • airblast, and • flyrock. Much of the information in the module is derived from the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA). The performance standards apply to all surface coal mines. Similar standards have been adopted on some State and local levels and applied to non-coal blasting operations such as quarrying and construction. Part I: Ground Vibrations, Airblast, and Flyrock Explosive energy is used to break rock. However, the use of this energy is not 100-percent efficient. Some of the energy escapes into the atmosphere to generate airblast or air vibrations. Some of the energy also leaves the blast site through the surface soil and bedrock in the form of ground vibrations. Both air and ground vibrations create waves that disturb the material in which they travel. When these waves encounter a structure, they cause it to shake. Ground vibrations enter the house through the basement and airblast enters the house through the walls and roof. Airblast may be audible (noise) or in-audible (concussion). When outside a house the blast may be heard because of the noise, however noise has little impact on the structure. The concussion wave causes the structure to shake and rattles objects hanging on walls or sitting on shelves. This “interior noise” will alarm and startle people living in the house. Flyrock is debris ejected from the blast site that is traveling through the air or along the ground. Flyrock is the single most dangerous adverse effect that can cause property damage and personal injury or death. Blasting Impacts on Structures Both above-ground and below-ground structures are susceptible to vibration impacts. Structures can include onsite mine offices and buildings, as well as offsite residences, schools, churches, power- transmission lines, and buried pipelines. Some of these structures may include historic or cultural features sensitive to even low levels of vibrations. It is important to understand: 1. the causes of ground vibrations and airblast, and 2. what practices can be followed to control and minimize the adverse effects Ground Vibrations Ground vibrations propagate away from a blast site as Rayleigh (or surface) waves. These waves form a disturbance in the ground that displaces particles of soil or rock as they pass by. Particle motions are quite complicated. At the ground surface (free boundary), measured particle motions have the greatest displacements, and displacements decrease with depth (see the illustration below). At a depth of between 20 to 50 feet below ground surface, particle displacements are barely detectable. Structures that are well coupled to the ground tend to move with this motion; structures buried in the ground are less affected by surface motions. Ground vibrations are measured in terms of particle velocity and are reported in inches per second (ips) or the speed at which a particle of soil or rock moves. At typical blasting distances from residential structures, the ground only moves with displacements equal to the thickness of a piece of writing paper. In terms of displacement, this equates to hundredths of an inch; visually, such movement cannot be detected. Airblast Airblast is measured as a pressure in pounds per square inch (psi) and is often reported in terms of decibels (dB). Airblast is a pressure wave that that may be audible or in- audible. Elevated airblast levels are generated when explosive energy in the form gases escape from the detonating blast holes. Energy escapes either through the top stemming or through fractures in the rock along the face near-surface or at the ground surface. detonation Airblast radiates outward from the blast site in all directions and can travel long distances. Sound waves travel much slower (1,100 ft/s) than ground vibrations (about 5,000 – 20,000 ft/s) . Hence, airblast arrives at offsite structures later than do ground vibrations. Both ground vibrations and airblast cause structures to shake structures. Occupants in structures that are located far from a blast may experience shaking from vibration and airblast as two separate, closely spaced events. This can be particularly bothersome, as it prolongs the duration of structure shaking and leads the property owner to think that two separate blasts occurred. Vibration Energy Blast vibrations travel away from a blast in all directions. At 5,000 to 25,000 feet per second, ground vibrations for all practical purposes arrive immediately at the home at the detonation of the first hole. Airblast travels much slower at 1,100 feet per second. Home Airblast Blast 1,100 fps Body Waves Surface Waves 20,000 fps 5,000 fps Blasting Seismographs Ground and air vibrations are measured using a blasting seismograph. The components of a seismograph include: • a seismograph for • a microphone or the collection and airblast sensor. storage of vibration data. • a geophone or ground vibration sensor Ground Vibration Sensors Incoming blast wave Geophone housing (the Inside housing showing arrow designates transducer orientations Longitudinal ) Tri-axial geophones contain three mutually perpendicular velocity transducers. These transducers move and record TRANSVERSE (T) ground vibrations in three directions: • vertical, or perpendicular to the ground surface, RADIAL (R) or • longitudinal or radial, or in the direction of the LONGITUNDINAL (L) incoming wave, and • transverse, or perpendicular to the incoming wave. VERTICAL (V) These directions of ground vibration are often referred to as V, T, and R (or L, longitudinal).