Survey of blasting activity in the United States. Rept. for 1 Aug 88-30 Apr 90

Technical Report · Thu May 16 04:00:00 EDT 1991

OSTI ID:5936438

Richards, P G; Anderson, D A; Simpson, D W

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.

• Research Organization: Columbia Univ., Palisades, NY (United States). Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory
• OSTI ID: 5936438
• Report Number(s): AD-A-241757/4/XAB; CNN: F19628-88-K-0041
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

350300 -- Arms Control-- Verification-- (1987-)
45 MILITARY TECHNOLOGY, WEAPONRY, AND NATIONAL DEFENSE
450100 -- Military Technology
Weaponry
& National Defense-- Chemical Explosions & Explosives
450300* -- Military Technology
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98 NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT, SAFEGUARDS, AND PHYSICAL PROTECTION
CARBONACEOUS MATERIALS
CHEMICAL EXPLOSIONS
COAL
DATA
DATA ACQUISITION
DETECTION
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
EARTHQUAKES
ELEMENTS
ENERGY SOURCES
ENGINEERING
EVALUATION
EXPLOSIONS
EXPLOSIVES
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
INFORMATION
MATERIALS
METALS
MINING ENGINEERING
MONITORING
NORTH AMERICA
NUCLEAR EXPLOSION DETECTION
NUCLEAR EXPLOSIONS
NUMERICAL DATA
SAFETY
SEISMIC DETECTION
SEISMIC EVENTS
SEISMOLOGY
STATISTICAL DATA
SURVEYS
UNDERGROUND EXPLOSIONS
USA