Wyoming Administrative Code › Agency 053 - Workforce Services, Department of › Sub-Agency 0004 - Mining Inspector › Chapter 5 - SURFACE COAL MINES › Subpart N - Explosives and Blasting › Section 77.1303 - Explosives, handling and use

Current through July 13, 2024
(a) Persons who use
				  or handle explosives or detonators shall be experienced men who understand the
				  hazards involved; trainees shall do such work only under the supervision of and
				  in the immediate presence of experienced men.
(b) Blasting operations shall be under the
				  direct control of authorized persons.
(c) Substantial nonconductive closed
				  containers shall be used to carry explosives, other than blasting agents to the
				  blasting site.
(d) Damaged or
				  deteriorated explosives or detonators shall be destroyed in a safe
				  manner.
(e) Where electric blasting
				  is to be performed, electric circuits to equipment in the immediate area to be
				  blasted shall be deenergized before explosives or detonators are brought into
				  the area; the power shall not be turned on again until after the shots are
				  fired.
(f) Explosives shall be kept
				  separated from detonators until charging is started.
(g) Areas in which charged holes are awaiting
				  firing shall be guarded, or barricaded and posted, or flagged against
				  unauthorized entry.
(h) Ample
				  warning shall be given before blasts are fired. All persons shall be cleared
				  and removed from the blasting area unless suitable blasting shelters are
				  provided to protect men endangered by concussion or flyrock from
				  blasting.
(i) Lead wires and
				  blasting lines shall not be strung across power conductors, pipelines, railroad
				  tracks, or within 20 feet of bare powerlines. They shall be protected from
				  sources of static or other electrical contact.
(j) For the protection of underground
				  workers, special precautions shall be taken when blasting in close proximity to
				  underground operations, and no blasting shall be done that would be hazardous
				  to persons working underground.
(k)
				  Holes shall not be drilled where there is danger of intersecting a charged or
				  misfired hole.
(l) Only wooden or
				  other nonsparking implements shall be used to punch holes in an explosive
				  cartridge.
(m) Tamping poles shall
				  be blunt and squared at one end and made of wood, nonsparking material, or of
				  special plastic acceptable to the Mine Safety and Health
				  Administration.
(n) Delay
				  connectors for firing detonating cord shall be treated and handled with the
				  same safety precautions as blasting caps and electric detonators.
(o) Capped primers shall be made up at the
				  time of charging and as close to the blasting site as conditions
				  allow.
(p) A capped primer shall be
				  prepared so that the detonator is contained securely and is completely embedded
				  within the explosive cartridge.
(q)
				  No tamping shall be done directly on a capped primer.
(r) Detonating cord shall not be used if it
				  has been kinked, bent, or otherwise handled in such a manner that the train of
				  detonation may be interrupted.
(s)
				  Fuse shall not be used if it has been kinked, bent sharply, or handled roughly
				  in such a manner that the train of deflagration may be interrupted.
(t) Blasting caps shall be crimped to fuses
				  only with implements designed for that specific purpose.
(u) When firing from 1 to 15 blast-holes with
				  safety fuse ignited individually using hand-held lighters, the fuses shall be
				  of such lengths to provide the minimum burning time specified in the following
				  table for a particular size round:
Number of holes in a round
Minimum burning time, minutes
1
2
2 to 5
2 2/3
6 to 10
3 1/3
11 to 15
5
In no case shall any 40-second-per-foot safety fuse less
					 than 36 inches long or any 30-second-per-foot safety fuse less than 48 inches
					 long be used.
(v) The
				  burning rate of the safety fuse in use at any time shall be measured, posted in
				  conspicuous locations, and brought to the attention of all men concerned with
				  blasting.
(w) Electric detonators
				  of different brands shall not be used in the same round.
(x) Adequate priming shall be employed to
				  guard against misfires, increased toxic fumes, and poor performance.
(y) Except when being tested with a blasting
				  galvanometer:
(1) Electric detonators shall
				  be kept shunted until they are being connected to the blasting line or wired
				  into a blasting round.
(2) Wired
				  rounds shall be kept shunted until they are being connected to the blasting
				  line.
(3) Blasting lines shall be
				  kept shunted until immediately before blasting.