45.1-161.126 - Surface storage of explosives.
§ 45.1-161.126. Surface storage of explosives.
A. Separate surface magazines shall be provided for the storage of explosivesand detonators.
B. Surface magazines for storing and distributing explosives in amountsexceeding 150 pounds shall be:
1. Reasonably bulletproof and constructed of incombustible material orcovered with fire-resistive material. The roofs of magazines so located thatit is impossible to fire bullets directly through the roof from the groundneed not be bulletproof, but where it is possible to fire bullets directlythrough them, roofs shall be made bullet-resistant by material construction,or by a ceiling that forms a tray containing not less than a four-inchthickness of sand, or by other methods;
2. Provided with doors constructed of three-eighth inch steel plate linedwith a two-inch thickness of wood, or the equivalent;
3. Provided with dry floors made of wood or other nonsparking material andhave no metal exposed inside the magazine;
4. Provided with suitable warning signs so located that a bullet passingdirectly through the face of a sign will not strike the magazine;
5. Provided with properly screened ventilators;
6. Equipped with no openings except for entrance and ventilation;
7. Kept locked securely when unattended; and
8. Electrically bonded and grounded if constructed of metal.
C. Surface magazines for storing detonators need not be bulletproof, but theyshall conform to the other provisions of subsection B regarding the storageof explosives.
D. Explosives in amounts of 150 pounds or less or 5,000 detonators or lessshall be stored in accordance with preceding standards or in separate lockedbox-type magazines. Box-type magazines may also be used as distributingmagazines when quantities do not exceed those mentioned. Box-type magazinesshall be constructed strongly of two-inch hardwood or the equivalent. Metalmagazines shall be lined with nonsparking material. No magazine shall beplaced in a building containing oil, grease, gasoline, wastepaper or otherhighly flammable material; nor shall a magazine be placed within 20 feet of astove, furnace, open fire or flame.
E. Magazines shall be located not less than 300 feet from any mine opening.However, in the event that a magazine cannot be practicably located at such adistance, a magazine may be located less than 300 feet from any mine opening,if it is sufficiently barricaded and approved by the Chief. Unless approvedby the Chief, magazines shall not be located closer to occupied buildings,public roads, or passenger railways than allowed in the "American Table ofDistances for Storage of Explosive Materials."
F. The supply kept in distribution magazines shall be limited toapproximately a 48-hour supply, and such supplies of explosives anddetonators may be distributed from the same magazine, if separated by atleast a four-inch substantially fastened hardwood partition or equivalentbarrier.
G. The area surrounding magazines for not less than 25 feet in all directionsshall be kept free of rubbish, dry grass or other materials of a combustiblenature.
H. If the explosives magazine is illuminated electrically, vapor-proof lampsshall be installed and wired so as to present minimum fire and contacthazards.
I. Only nonmetallic tools shall be used for opening wooden explosivescontainers. Extraneous materials shall not be stored with explosives ordetonators in an explosives magazine.
(Code 1950, § 45-53.2; 1954, c. 191; 1966, c. 594, § 45.1-44; 1978, c. 729;1994, c. 28; 2005, c. 3.)