{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-352.241","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 352.241","heading":"Explosives and blasting devices in mines.","body":"(1) Explosives or detonators carried anywhere underground by any person shall be in\ncontainers constructed substantially of nonconductive material, maintained in good\ncondition, and kept closed.\n(2) When explosives or detonators are transported underground in cars moved by\nmeans of a locomotive or rope, or in shuttle cars, they shall be in substantial\ncovered cars or in special substantial covered containers used specifically for\ntransporting detonators or explosives.\n(a) The bodies and covers of the cars and c ontainers shall be constructed or lined\nwith nonconductive material.\n(b) If explosives and detonators are hauled in the same explosives car or in the\nsame special container, they shall be separated by at least a four (4) inch\nsubstantially fastened hardwood partition or the equivalent.\n(c) Explosives, detonators, or other explosive items shall not be transported on\nthe same trip with men.\n(d) When explosives or detonators are transported in special cars or containers in\ncars, they shall be hauled in special  trips not connected to any other trip.\nHowever, this does not prohibit the use of the additional cars as needed to\nlower a rope trip or to haul supplies including timbers. Materials so\ntransported shall not project above the top of the car. Exposed highly\nflammable materials such as oil or grease shall not be hauled on the same trip\nwith explosives.\n(e) Explosives or detonators shall not be hauled into or out of a mine within five\n(5) minutes preceding or following a man trip or any other trip.\n(3) Explosives and detonators shall be transported underground by belt only under the\nfollowing conditions:\n(a) In the original and unopened case, in special closed cases constructed of\nnonconductive material, or in suitable individual containers;\n(b) Clearance requi rements shall be the same as those for transporting men on\nbelts;\n(c) Suitable loading and unloading stations shall be provided; and\n(d) Stop controls shall be provided at loading and unloading points, and an\nattendant shall supervise the loading and unloa ding of explosives and\ndetonators.\n(4) Neither explosives nor detonators shall be transported on flight or shaking\nconveyors, scrapers, mechanical loading machines, locomotives, cutting machines,\ntrack drills, or any self-propelled mobile equipment. However, this does not prohibit\nthe transportation of explosives or detonators in special substantial covered\ncontainers as used in subsection (2) of this section in shuttle cars or in equipment\ndesigned especially to transport explosives or detonators.\n(5) When supplies of explosives and detonators for use in one (1) or more sections are\nstored underground, they shall be kept in section boxes or magazines of substantial\nconstruction with no metal exposed on the inside, located at least twenty -five (25)\nfeet from  roadways and power wires, and in a reasonably dry, well -rock-dusted\nlocation protected from falls of roof. In pitching beds, where it is not possible to\ncomply with the location requirement, the boxes shall be placed in niches cut into\nthe solid coal or rock.\n(6) When explosives or detonators are stored in the section, they shall be kept\npreferably in separate boxes or magazines not less than five (5) feet apart; if kept in\nthe same box or magazine, they shall be separated by at least a four (4) inch\nsubstantially fastened hardwood partition or the equivalent. Not more than a forty -\neight (48) hour supply of explosives or detonators shall be stored underground in\nany one (1) section in the boxes or magazines.\n(7) Explosives and detonators stored near the working face s shall be in separate closed\ncontainers, and shall be in a location out of line of blast not less than fifty (50) feet\nfrom the face and fifteen (15) feet from any pipeline, powerline, rail, or conveyor;\nexcept that if kept in niches in the rib, the dista nce from pipeline, powerline, rail, or\nconveyor shall be at least fifteen (15) feet. Explosives and detonators, when stored,\nshall be separated by a distance of at least ten (10) feet.\n(8) Explosives and detonators shall be kept in their containers until i mmediately before\nuse at the working faces.\n(9) Only nonmetallic tools shall be used for opening wooden explosives containers.\nTools or other materials shall not be stored with explosives or detonators.\n(10) All explosives used underground in underground m ines, except in sinking shafts\nand slopes from the surface, shall be of the permissible type, specifically designed\nand manufactured for underground use, and shall be used as follows:\n(a) Fired only with electric detonators of proper strength;\n(b) Fired with a permissible shot -firing unit of adequate capacity to fire all caps;\nhowever, if firing is done from the surface when all men are out of the mine,\nthe firing unit does not need to meet specifications of permissibility;\n(c) Where the coal is cut, shots shall not be fired if the blast hole is drilled beyond\nthe limits of the cut;\n(d) Boreholes shall be cleaned, and they shall be checked to see that they are\nplaced properly and are of correct depth, in relation to the cut, before being\ncharged;\n(e) All blasting charges shall have a burden of at least eighteen (18) inches in all\ndirections if the height of the seam permits;\n(f) Boreholes shall be stemmed with at least twenty -four (24) inches of\nincombustible material, or at least one-half (1/2) of the length of the hole shall\nbe stemmed if the hole is less than four (4) feet in depth unless other\npermissible stemming devices or methods are used;\n(g) Examinations for gas shall be made immediately before firing each shot or\ngroup of multiple shots and after blasting is completed;\n(h) Shots shall not be fired in any place where methane greater than one percent\n(1%) can be detected with approved gas detection devices when tested at a\npoint not less than twelve (12) inches from the roof, face, or rib;\n(i) Charges exceeding one and one -half (1-1/2) pounds, but not exceeding three\n(3) pounds, shall be used only if boreholes are six (6) feet or more in depth,\nthe explosives are charged in a continuous train, with no cartridges\ndeliberately deformed or crushed, with all  cartridges in contact with each\nother, and with the end cartridges touching the back of the hole and the\nstemming respectively. However the three (3) pound limit does not apply to\nspecial solid rock work if the mine is evacuated or if approved by the\ndepartment;\n(j) Shots shall be charged and fired by certified shotfirers designated by the mine\nforeman;\n(k) Boreholes shall not be charged while any other work is being done at the face,\nand the shot or shots shall be fired before any other work is done in th e zone\nof danger from blasting except that which is necessary to safeguard the\nemployees;\n(l) Only nonmetallic tamping bars shall be used for charging and tamping\nboreholes. This does not prohibit the use of a nonmetallic tamping bar with a\nnonsparking metallic scraper on one (1) end;\n(m) The leg wires of electric detonators shall be kept shunted until ready to\nconnect to the firing cable;\n(n) Shots shall not be fired from the power of signal circuit while any men are in\nthe mine;\n(o) The roof and ribs of working places shall be tested before and after firing each\nshot or group of multiple shots;\n(p) Ample warning shall be given before shots are fired, and care shall be taken to\nascertain that all persons are in the clear. Men shall be removed from\nadjoining working places when there is danger of a shot blowing through;\n(q) Mixed types or brands of explosives shall not be charged or fired in any\nborehole;\n(r) Mudcaps (adobes) or other unconfined shots shall not be fired underground in\na mine;\n(s) Before blasting, the continuity of the blasting circuits shall be tested with a\npermissible blaster's galvanometer specifically designed for this purpose;\n(t) No instantaneous detonator shall be connected in a circuit containing short -\nperiod delay detonators. The firs t charge in a sequence shall be initiated by a\nshort period delay detonator having a nominal delay period of not less than\ntwenty-five (25) milliseconds;\n(u) All short period delay detonators shall be wired in series;\n(v) Each primer shall be made with car e to insure that the detonator is inserted\nproperly and does not protrude from the wrapping and that the leg wires are\nsecured to the cartridge in a manner so that the detonator will not become\ndislodged in handling and charging;\n(w) In making a primer, a powder punch of nonsparking material shall be used.\nThe hole in the cartridge shall be at least one -half (1/2) inch deeper than the\ndetonator used. Rolling the end of a cartridge to receive a detonator is\nprohibited;\n(x) The primer shall be placed in the borehole first pointing outward and the rest\nof the charge shall be pushed in a continuous train to the back of the borehole\nto prevent cuttings from getting between the cartridges; and\n(y) Suitable clean-up of loose coal and coal dust with adequate rock -dusting or\nwetting down at the face of each working place shall be completed prior to\ncharging shot holes.\n(11) Blasting cables shall be:\n(a) Well insulated and as long as may be necessary to permit the shotfirer to get in\na safe place around a corner;\n(b) Short-circuited at the battery end until ready to attach to the blasting unit;\n(c) Staggered as to length or the ends kept well separated when attached to the\ndetonator leg wires; and\n(d) Kept clear of power wires and all other possible sources of active or stray\nelectric current.\n(12) Where misfires occur with electric detonators, a waiting period of at least five (5)\nminutes shall elapse before anyone returns to the shot. After the failure, the blasting\ncable shall be dis connected from the source of power and the battery ends short -\ncircuited before electric connections are examined.\n(13) Explosives shall be removed by firing a separate charge at least two (2) feet away\nfrom, and parallel to, the misfired charge or by washi ng the stemming and the\ncharge from the borehole with water, or by inserting and firing a new primer after\nthe stemming has been washed out.\n(14) A very careful search of the working place and, if necessary, of the blasted material\nafter it reaches the sur face shall be made after blasting a misfired hole, to recover\nany undetonated explosive.\n(15) The handling of a misfired shot shall be under the direct supervision of the mine\nforeman or a competent person designated by him.","path":["KRS Chapter 352"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=33003","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:58:38Z","sha256":"e704f01f2b616252e476d2d9853d23b617e07d20cea72900053b7d44d530fcaa","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-352.240","next":"us-ky/krs-352.250"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}