805 KAR 4:095. Loading of explosives or blasting agents

      Section 1. Loading of Explosives or Blasting Agents. (1) Procedures that permit safe and efficient loading shall be established before loading is started.

      (2) All drill holes shall be sufficiently large to admit freely the insertion of the cartridges of explosives.

      (3) Tamping shall be done only with wood rods or plastic tamping poles without exposed metal parts, but nonsparking metal connectors may be used for jointed poles. Violent tamping shall be avoided. The primer shall never be tamped.

      (4) No holes shall be loaded except those to be fired in the next round of blasting. After loading, all remaining explosives and detonators shall be immediately returned to an authorized magazine.

      (5) Drilling shall not be started until all remaining butts of old holes are examined for unexploded charges, and if any are found, they shall be refired before work proceeds.

      (6) No person shall be allowed to deepen drill holes which have contained explosives or blasting agents.

      (7) No explosives or blasting agents shall be left unattended at the blast site.

      (8) Machines and all tools not used for drilling, loading and covering the blast shall be removed from the immediate location of holes before explosives are delivered.

      (9) No activity of any nature other than that which is required for blasting shall be permitted in a blast area.

      (10) Power lines and portable electric cables for equipment being used shall be kept a safe distance from explosives or blasting agents being loaded into drill holes. Cables in the proximity of the blast area shall be deenergized and locked out by the blaster.

      (11) Holes shall be checked prior to loading to determine the depth and conditions. Holes shall not be drilled where there is a danger of intersecting a charged or misfired hole.

      (12) When loading a long line of holes with more than one (1) loading crew, the crew shall be separated by practical distance consistent with efficient operation and supervision of crews.

      (13) No explosives shall be loaded or used underground in the presence of combustible gases or combustible dusts.

      (14) In underground blasting, explosives in Fume Class I, as set forth by the Institute of the Makers of Explosives, shall be used; provided, however, that Fume Class I explosives are not required when ventilation adequate to dissipate all fumes is provided and the workings are abandoned for a period of time sufficient to allow dissipation of all fumes.

      (15) All blast holes in open work shall be stemmed to the collar or to a point which will confine the charge.

      (16) Warning signs, indicating a blast area, shall be maintained at all approaches to the blast area. The warning sign lettering shall not be less than four (4) inches in height on a contrasting background. This subsection does not apply to surface mining.

      (17) A borehole shall never be sprung when it is adjacent to or near a hole that is loaded. Flashlight batteries shall not be used for springing holes.

      (18) Drill holes that have been sprung or chambered, and which are not water-filled, shall be allowed to cool before explosives are loaded.

      (19) No loaded holes shall be left unattended or unprotected.

      (20) The blaster shall keep an accurate, up-to-date record of explosives, blasting agents, and blasting supplies used in a blast and shall keep an accurate running inventory of all explosives and blasting agents stored on the operation. (2 Ky.R. 612; Am. 3 Ky.R. 320; eff. 9-1-76; 4 Ky.R. 305; eff. 5-3-78; TAm eff. 8-9-2007.)

Notation

      RELATES TO: KRS 351.350, 351.990

      STATUTORY AUTHORITY: KRS 351.335

      NECESSITY, FUNCTION, AND CONFORMITY: KRS 351.335 requires the Department for Natural Resources to promulgate rules and administrative regulations concerning the manufacture, transportation, sale, storage, or use of explosives and unassembled components of explosives, and the maintenance of such explosives which has a direct bearing on safety to life and property. This administrative regulation effects the provisions of that law.