Blasting and Explosives Safety

Course Description:

Few careers leave so little room for error as an explosives worker. Without meticulous attention to detail, just one distracted moment can result in death. As you can imagine, the blasting profession is a highly regulated field. The main purpose of today’s session is to help you keep your worksite safe while outlining the regulations for blasting and the use of explosives which are found at 29 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 1926.900 to 1926.914 and which are enforced by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or OSHA.

Why “Blasting and Explosives Safety” Matters:

• Injuries from blasting activities caused by shock waves and flying rock can be fatal, and they can also leave long-lasting physical and mental health issues. Hundreds of construction workers die every year by not using proper safety precautions.
• Blasting accidents from improper safety practices can have devastating effects on your workplace’s resources—both human and financial.
• Having a serious injury or death at work affects everyone at a worksite. You owe it to yourself to keep you and your workers safe at all times.
• Neglecting to adhere to federal regulations involving blasting on construction sites can result in thousands of dollars in fines for violations and repeat violations.
• Thoroughly understanding and adhering to OSHA’s rules and regulations when it comes to blasting and explosives should keep you, your worksite, and the surrounding environment out of harm’s way.

Key Points:

• Always treat the explosives you work with and the blasting process with care and respect;
• Intimately know the applicable federal regulations and use their rules to guide you;
• Make sure your fellow workers are well clear of danger when explosions have even the slightest chance of occurring;
• Always suspend blasting operations if conditions are not optimal; and
• Using good judgment, reasoning, and making careful assessments are essential to working safely with explosives.