45.1-161.129 - Blasting practices; penalty.
§ 45.1-161.129. Blasting practices; penalty.
A. All explosives shall be of the permissible type except where addressed inthe plan for shaft and slope development required by § 45.1-161.250 B.
B. All explosives shall be used as follows:
1. Explosives shall be fired only with electric detonators of proper strength;
2. Explosives shall be fired with permissible shot-firing units, unlessfiring is done from the surface when all persons are out of the mine, or inaccordance with a plan approved by the Chief;
3. Boreholes in coal shall not be drilled beyond the limits of the cut wherethe coal is cut nor into the roof or floor;
4. Boreholes shall be cleaned, and shall be checked to see that they areplaced properly and are of correct depth in relation to the cut, before beingcharged;
5. All blasting charges in coal shall have a burden of at least eighteeninches in all directions if the height of the coal permits;
6. Boreholes shall be stemmed with at least twenty-four inches ofincombustible material, or at least one-half of the length of the hole shallbe stemmed if the hole is less than four feet in depth. The Chief may approvethe use of other stemming devices;
7. Examinations for gas shall be made immediately before firing each shot orgroup of multiple shots, and after blasting is completed;
8. Shots shall not be fired in any place where a methane level of one percentor greater can be detected with a permissible methane detector;
9. Without approval, charges exceeding one and one-half pounds, but notexceeding three pounds, shall be used only if (i) boreholes are six feet ormore in depth; (ii) the explosives are charged in a continuous train, with nocartridges deliberately deformed or crushed; (iii) all cartridges are incontact with each other, with the end cartridges touching the back of thehole and the stemming, respectively; and (iv) permissible explosives areused; however, the three-pound limit shall not apply to solid rock work;
10. Any solid shooting shall be done in compliance with conditions prescribedby the Chief;
11. Shots shall be fired by a certified underground shot firer;
12. Boreholes shall not be charged while any other work is being done at theface, and the shot or shots shall be fired before any other work is done inthe zone of danger from blasting except that which is necessary to safeguardthe miners;
13. Only nonmetallic tamping bars, including a nonmetallic tamping bar with anonsparking metallic scraper on one end, shall be used for charging andtamping boreholes;
14. The leg wires of electric detonators shall be kept shunted until ready toconnect to the firing cable;
15. The roof and faces of working places shall be tested before and afterfiring each shot or group of multiple shots;
16. Ample warning shall be given before shots are fired, and care shall betaken to ascertain that all miners are in the clear;
17. All miners shall be removed from the working place and the immediatelyadjoining working place or places to a distance of at least 100 feet andaccounted for before shots are fired;
18. Mixed types or brands of explosives shall not be charged or fired in anyborehole;
19. Adobe (mudcap) or other open, unconfined shots shall not be fired in anymine except those types approved by the Mine Safety and Health Administrationand the Chief;
20. Power wires and cables that could contact blasting cables or leg wiresshall be de-energized during charging and firing;
21. Firing shots from a properly installed and protected blasting circuit maybe permitted by the Chief;
22. No miner shall return, or shall be allowed to return, to the workingplace after the firing of any shot or shots until the smoke has reasonablycleared away;
23. Before returning to work and beginning to load coal, slate or refuse, aminer shall make a careful examination of the condition of the roof and dowhat is necessary to make the working place safe; and
24. An examination for fire shall be made of the working area after anyblasting.
C. It shall be unlawful for an operator, his agent, or mine foreman to causeor permit any solid shooting to be done without first having obtained awritten permit from the Chief. It shall be unlawful for any miner to shootcoal from the solid without first obtaining permission to do so from theoperator, his agent, or mine foreman. A violation of this subsection is aClass 1 misdemeanor.
(Code 1950, §§ 45-53.1, 45-53.5; 1954, c. 191; 1966, c. 594, § 45.1-48; 1978,c. 729; 1981, c. 179; 1984, c. 229; 1993, c. 442; 1994, c. 28; 1999, c. 256.)