there are several hundred minds in the
Commonwealth of Virginia these sites
produce road construction materials home
building materials coal for electricity
of steelmaking and much more getting
these materials out of the earth often
requires blasting and if you're a
neighbor to a mine site there are a few
things you should know about blasting
this video is your guide to what balls
and regulations allow in blasting one
still Corporation operates a quarry just
off of a busy road in Charlottesville
blasters here consider your location
when planning every blast we want to be
seen as good neighbors and good
community members and we will do what it
takes on our end to make sure that we're
putting the right amount of energy and
time and effort into these shots to make
sure that you know it's a balancing act
we want to get what we want out of it
but we also want our neighbors to be
okay with what they're seeing from our
shop why do mining companies blast
oftentimes they need to make larger Rock
smaller or remove rock that is in a way
the material they are mining and if you
live near a mine or a quarry you will
notice a blast when it happens well
people be will hear it will they be
disturbed by possibly some and certainly
we encourage people of mine companies to
set internal limits considerably below
our regulations and most of them do
Virginia regulations set limits on how
loud a blast can be and how much
movement a blast can calls in the
surrounding area both can be affected by
how close you are to a blasting site the
wind direction and other factors so
what's the limit is set at 133 decimals
ok what does that equate to well a
chainsaw running is about a hundred and
ten to 115 something like that studies
show 133 decibels are in a safe area and
will not damage hearing or structures
typically it would just be a background
boom not a large event a lot of
preparation and science goes into each
glass to prevent large sound or
vibration called by air overpressure
it's a great effort to make sure that
our measurements are right and we
incorporate the latest technology do
that the idea is to keep the material
that is being blasted compact in a very
nice neat hi we want our balance right
there we want we want to break it up as
small as we can and not have it throw
too awful for something very seriously
goes wrong for rock to leave the
confines of the core sly Rock incidents
are not completely unheard of but they
are rare and if a blast calls is a fly
rock the Virginia Department of Mines
minerals and energy takes action when we
get a fly rock incident we will close
blasting at that site until we are
satisfied that's we know what the cause
was and that steps have been taken to
ensure that it won't happen again
vibrations from glass are also regulated
if proper procedures are being followed
and if they're staying well within our
limits and within limits that they
typically have been set for themselves
you might feel a slight vibration there
might be a loose dish in a cabinet that
might rattle but as far as things
falling off the wall moving that really
shouldn't happen the Virginia Department
of Mines minerals and energy encourages
you to report that activity to our
office and to the mine site if you live
near a quarry you can contact the
Charlottesville office at 43 49 51 6310
home on contact DMM e in Big Stone Gap
at 276 52 38 199 for more information on
mining in Virginia visit our website at
D Mme virginia gov