Laserfiche WebLink
Blasting Impacts and Rock Slope Stability Assessment for Cottonwood Quarry in Grand County,CO <br /> the deer might casually lift their heads and look toward the test site. However, they never ran <br /> away or appeared otherwise bothered by the loud noise. It was obvious that, like the animals at <br /> the Metro Washington Park Zoo in Portland, the deer had become acclimatized to the blasting <br /> noise. <br /> For the past three years, the author has also been involved in an expansion project at the County <br /> of Sonoma California Central Disposal Site in Petaluma, CA, where blasting has been regularly <br /> occurred within 1,000 feet of dairy cows. Measurements in the cow pastures have indicated that <br /> blast noise and vibration levels have been as high as 0.08 in/s and 128 dBL,respectively. Despite <br /> initial concerns by the dairy operators, all involved parties have now concurred that the cows <br /> have not been disturbed in any way by these blasting effects. <br /> Based on the referenced studies and observations of the author at many other projects,blasting at <br /> the Cottonwood Project will have little or no impact on domestic or wild animals near the site or <br /> on neighboring properties. <br /> 4.5 Control of Dust <br /> MSHA rules require the use water injection when drilling to control drilling dust. Standard <br /> blasting practices using sequential delay timing schemes to generate effective rock fragmentation <br /> and vibration control will also minimize blasting dust. Further, aggregate quarry operators will <br /> invariably remove loose overburden to prevent dilution of mined rock,which lessens the amount <br /> of fine material that can become airborne by blasting. If needed, during dry summer periods, <br /> water can also be sprayed onto blast areas to further mitigate dust. If these standard practices are <br /> applied,it is unlikely that airborne dust from blasting will be a cause of concern. <br /> 4.6 Impacts on Soil Resources <br /> Some small amounts of blasting agents, which in quarries is typically ammonium nitrate pellets <br /> mixed with fuel oil (ANFO), is lost to the ground by spillage or wind blowing while being <br /> loaded.The amount on nitrates released to the ground by these losses is typically not toxic to any <br /> flora or fauna in an and environment like that existing at the Cottonwood site. Wind-blown <br /> ANFO dust that lands on the ground surface effectively becomes fertilizer for plants that convert <br /> it to other natural matter through photosynthesis. If Linke Construction Co., consistent with <br /> good practices for minimizing spillage, implements careful clean-up procedures, concentrations <br /> of nitrates or ammonia in soils will not be harmful or even noticeable. <br /> REYEY Associates,Inc. Page 17 April 2004 <br />