Blasting accidents in mines, a 16-year summary

Over 4 billion pounds of commercial explosives are used by the US mining industry every year with an excellent and improving safety record. However, accidents involving explosives are seldom minor. They produce a disproportionate amount of fatalities compared to other mining activities, as reflected in the relatively high severity rates. The US Bureau of Mines (USBM) has been analyzing blasting accident data obtained from the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) to determine the most frequent causes of mine blasting accidents, examining trends in these accidents, and identifying areas of needed research. This paper is an update of three previous blasting accident studies conducted on 4-year intervals by the USBM and published in 1983, 1987, and 1991, and is based on a total of 869 blasting accidents. An annual average of about 58 nonfatal injuries caused by mine blasting accidents have occurred in the 16-year period from 1978 to 1993. Blast area security and flyrock continue to be the primary causes of accidents with other common causes being premature blasts, fumes, and misfires. Examination of blasting accident trends shows 4.75 fatalities per year for the period 1990--1993, close to the previous two 4-year periods and a slight decrease compared tomore » the entire previous 12-year history. By contrast, injury totals have decreased to a new all-time low of 27 per year, about half the number in each of the two previous 4-year periods and representing a 60 pct decrease over the total previous average. Even considering adjusting for the slight decrease in total industry hours worked, these numbers represent a real reduction in blasting injuries and signify the use of better procedures, materials and training by the mining industry and its explosives suppliers.« less