A Survey of Blasting Activity in the United States
Abstract
Since, in many parts of the world, there are many more seismograms from chemical explosions (blasting) than from naturally-occurring earthquakes, statistical information on chemical explosions is needed for assessing seismic capability to monitor underground nuclear explosions. Data was obtained on blasting activity from: (1) overview information from the U.S. Bureau of Mines (USBM) on total amount of chemical explosives used in the US during 1987, with breakdowns into different explosive types, and usage by different states; (2) overview information from the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) on the numbers of mines, of different types, in the US; and (3) detailed information from Vibra-Tech Engineers, Inc. on total shot size and size of charge per delay for 20,813 blasts carried out in 1987 at 532 locations. We extrapolated detailed information in the 1987 Vibra-Tech data for a limited number of states to obtain estimates for the whole country on numbers of shots and their size distribution. Main findings are that about 2.2 million metric tons of chemical explosive are used annually in the CONUS, principally in mining for coal and metal ores. Almost all chemical explosions above one ton are 'ripple-fired.' The typical shot uses 20 to 50 separate delays.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 16, 1991
- Accession Number
- ADA241757
Entities
People
- D A Anderson
- D. W. Simpson
- P. G. Richards
Organizations
- Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory