North Carolina Administrative Code › Title 13 - LABOR › Chapter 07 - OFFICE OF OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH › Subchapter F - STANDARDS › Section .0700 - BLASTING AND USE OF EXPLOSIVES › Section 07F .0708 - LOADING OF EXPLOSIVES OR BLASTING AGENTS

Current through Register Vol. 39, No. 2, July 15, 2024
Additions and amendments to
					 29 CFR
					 1926.905 Loading of Explosives or Blasting
					 Agents apply throughout the Rules in this Section as follows:
(a) Procedures that permit safe and efficient
				  loading shall be established by the Blaster-in-Charge or the employer before
				  loading is started.
(b) Drill holes
				  shall be sufficiently large to admit easy insertion of the cartridges of
				  explosives.
(c) Tamping shall be
				  done only with non-metal, non-sparking tamping poles without exposed metal
				  parts, except that nonsparking metal connectors may be used for jointed poles.
				  Violent tamping shall be prohibited. The primer shall never be
				  tamped.
(d) No holes shall be
				  loaded except those to be fired in the next round of blasting. After loading,
				  remaining explosives and detonators shall be promptly moved to a safe location
				  and attended or stored pursuant to ATF storage requirements contained in 27 CFR
				  Part 55.
(e) Drilling shall not be
				  started until all visible butts of old holes are examined for unexploded
				  charges, and if any are found, they shall be disposed of in accordance with
				  1926.911, before work proceeds.
(h)
				  Machines, personnel and tools not required for the blasting operation shall be
				  removed from the blast site before explosives are removed from storage or
				  transportation vehicles. Blasting operation related vehicles or equipment shall
				  not be driven over, or near enough to, explosive material or initiation systems
				  to come into contact with the explosive material or initiation systems.
				  Equipment not needed for the final blast shall not be operated within 50 feet
				  of loaded holes.
(i) During loading
				  the only activity permitted within the blast site shall be that required to
				  successfully and safely load the hole.
(j) Power lines and portable electric cables
				  for equipment being used shall be kept a safe distance from explosives or
				  blasting agents. The blaster shall assure that cables in the proximity of
				  loaded holes are deenergized and locked out. Additionally, when using electric
				  detonators, the provisions of 1926.906(b) apply.
(k) Holes shall be checked prior to loading
				  to determine depth and conditions. Only those holes determined by the
				  Blaster-in-Charge to be satisfactory shall be loaded.
(l) When loading a line of holes with more
				  than one loading crew, the crews shall be separated by practical distance
				  consistent with safe and efficient operation and supervision of
				  crews.
(m) No explosive shall be
				  loaded or used underground in the presence of combustible gases or combustible
				  dusts, unless the work is performed in accordance with the Mine Safety and
				  Health Administration (MSHA) standards at
				  30 CFR
				  75 related to such environments, which are
				  incorporated herein by reference, including subsequent amendments and editions,
				  and unless the explosives have been approved as permissible explosives for use
				  in gassy or dusty environments by MSHA.
(n) No explosives other than those in IME
				  Fume Class 1 shall be used. However, explosives complying with the requirements
				  of IME Fume Class 2 and IME Fume Class 3 may be used if adequate ventilation
				  has been provided to prevent explosive or hazardous substance hazards to
				  employees.
(q) A bore hole shall
				  never be sprung when there is a risk of a premature detonation of a loaded
				  hole.
(s) Areas in which loading is
				  suspended or loaded holes are awaiting firing shall be attended, and
				  barricaded, posted, or flagged as needed to guard against unauthorized entry or
				  initiation.
(t) The blaster shall
				  keep an accurate, up-to-date record of explosives, blasting agents, and
				  blasting supplies used in each blast and shall keep an accurate running
				  inventory of all explosives and blasting agents in the blaster's
				  custody.
(u) When loading blasting
				  agents pneumatically over electric detonators, semiconductive delivery hose
				  shall be used and the equipment shall be bonded and grounded.
(v) Primers shall be made up just before
				  their time of use and at the point of use.
(w) Holes shall not be drilled in a manner
				  that disturbs or intersects a loaded hole.
Authority
					 G.S.
					 95-131;
Recodified from
					 13 NCAC
					 07F .0201 Eff. August 3, 2005;
Pursuant to
					 G.S.
					 150B-21.3A rule is necessary without
					 substantive public interest Eff. March 1,
					 2016.