Southern Wayne Neighborhood Organization

Blasting Damage

How to document Blasting Damage

1: First and foremost: get a professional preblast survey before the mining begins. This will serve as a reference (“base-line”) for subsequent damage, and as evidence in court.

2: Get a professional damage survey done as soon as possible if blasting damage has already begun. Don’t fall into the trap of believing the damaging blasts will stop for good as a result of community complaints, meetings with officials or “studies.” When a mine wants to blast, it will be an on-going fight.

3: Be home to witness as many blasts as possible. Apprehending the wrongdoers when the damage occurs is a game of cat-an-mouse. You may be able to use a radio scanner to determine when and where the mine will be blasting.

4: Keep a log of the date, time and severity of every blast you witness. Try to calm down after severe blasts to avoid making mistakes in your log.

5: Describe the sounds of the blasts and the extent of shaking in your blast log. If you hear a sudden slam, as if a tree or cannonball has crashed into the roof or side of your house that was an air blast. An air blast may follow ground vibration by many seconds, depending on your distance from the mine. There may be severe blasts events when your actually hear where your house is cracking. Indicate the affected area in your long along with any evidence of new damage.

6: It is important to document new damage immediately. Notify your lawyer, the state RA and OSM. Some homeowners have called the police ad filed complaints of trespass, destruction of property or public nuisance-this works well when there is a local noise or nuisance ordinance.

7: Keep a journal of your telephone calls concerning blast complaints to officials and mine personnel. Follow up in writing because otherwise, your complaint is not official, and save your postal receipts. Telephone communications are a convenient way to deal with your problems and can be useful, but they don’t leave as good a record as letters, Remember: there is no record unless you make a record.

8: Inspect your house carefully after blasts:

Date and mark off the ends of all cracks extensions. Note the time of the damaging blast, if known. Include the location of new cracks in your written complaints to state RA’s, OSM and elected officials. They probably won’t help you, but you will need this record of your correspondence for court, and good record keeping also helps your get publicity (the” court of public opinion”)

Take photographs. Keep negatives and extra copies of all photos and records. If cracks are to fine to show up in photos, draw a line following the shape of the crack. Use enlargements. Put a person (or a part of a person, like a hand holding a ruler) in the picture to give the viewer a sense of scale. This also makes your photos striking, especially.

Be prepared to climb ladders and chairs, crawl in tight spaces and brave places where spiders and other critters hide. Carry a camera, flashlight, lamp, pencil colored chalk, marking pens and tape measure. You may also need to take along a portable telephone if other frightened and angry residents are calling you after bad blasts, or if officials or attorneys returning your calls.

Be aware that new damage to the inside of your house is likely to occur as hairline cracks that are hard to see. Hairline cracks are often around doorways, windows or corners, and sometimes ceilings. If your hold flashlights beam across the wall at an angle in darkened room, very fine hairline cracks and “nail-pops” may be more visible. Also note doors and windows that do not open or close properly because the house has shifted.

Photograph plaster and other debris that fall from blasts cracks. Leave plaster chips undisturbed or place in plastic bags labeled with date and time of blast, if known.

Inspect plumbing. Pipes may be dislodged or cracked. Leaks may not be immediately evident. Some homeowners have reported toilets, being knocked off their seals. Also, severe blasting may have contributed to an unusual number of water main breaks reported in some communities.

Document the damage in your basement. Note if there are long horizontal cracks in foundation walls at or near the soil level.

Inspect exposed wood beams for cracks and splintering. Walls may be cracked around insertions of horizontal steel beams. Ceilings may be cracked around support columns.

Check for gas leaks after severe blasts. (OSM once gave the opinion that gas leaks caused by specific blasts posed “ no danger of imminent harm” to the homeowner)

Inspect the house exterior. Look for new cracks in brick and stone, particularly when cracked through the center. Chimneys may be damaged. If blasting affects the soil, the house may show signs of unusual “settling”. Be sure to maintain proper drainage away from the foundation of your house. Blasting cracks may allow water to penetrate into your house and create worse damage. RA “ experts” and mine consultants love to write reports that cite drainage problems as the cause of all your damage. That includes imaginary drainage problems.







Twelve Steps to Blast Back and Win

1: Organize a group. Start with people who are harmed or threatened by blasting; expand to include other who share your principles. A group can apply real pressure on the mine and regulations. Do not let the mine or the regulators “split” your group.

2: Recruit a lawyer who has successfully handled blasting damage claims for citizens. This may be difficult because in many coal-producing areas, the best attorneys represent coal operators and there fore cannot represent you. Try to find a lawyer who has represented citizens in “tort” cases on environmental problems if you can’t find one with specific experience in blasting cases.

3: Don’t believe the regulatory agencies are your friends (though some mine inspectors might be.) The RAs will do little or nothing to stop the blasting damage. In fact, the RAs job, to quote one of them, is to “defuse” your complaints and defeat your damage claims. When public officials fail to carry out their sworn duty to protect the public, don’t be bashful about demanding their removal.

4: Beware of wasting time on State investigations of blasting damage. State agencies do not employ qualified blasting experts. You cannot get a fair shake unless the regulator’s technical staffs are (a) qualified and (b) unbiased. Talk to other citizens groups in your area to compare notes about the quality of the regulators’ alleged experts.

5: Slam the door on OSM offers to “study” your problem. Their technical “experts” will not testify about their reports under oath. They are not accountable for errors, false assumptions, or misrepresentations. OSM is biased.

6: Witness as many blasts as possible. Use a radio scanner to determine when the mine will blast.

7: Document blasts and resulting damage in full detail. Date mark off, and photograph all cracks and crack extensions. Get a professional pre-blast survey. Even if damage has started, you can document subsequent blasting damage.

8: Send blast damage complaints to your State RA and OSM in writing. Despite all the bad things we say about them, you need to create a “paper trail” It is proof of your good faith effort and can serve you well later both in court and the “court of public opinion.” Keep copies and postal receipts for your files.

9: Learn the facts about blasting effects and how the regulatory system works against citizen complainants. Use this knowledge to nip regulatory schemes and phony studies in the bud.

10: Go public. Attract media attention to your damage, and make sure that your public meetings and political actions are reported in newspapers and on TV.

11: Look for other groups in your region and elsewhere in the coalfields. Groups with common problems and interests can learn from each other and act in mutual aid.

12: Hang in there. Be tenacious and persistent in protecting your rights. You can win and get some justice. It probably won’t be easy or happen quickly, but it can and will happen if you see it through.

In Case of Blasting Emergency: Do This

1: Quickly note the time of the blast on your calendar. Errors will create more problems.

2: Calm down and tend to others at risk from acute stress.

3: Check gas lines. Get your family and pests out of the house if you smell gas. Call the gas company immediately.

4: Check for damage. Document in depth as time allows.

5: Decide where, how and whom you want to complain. If you decide to call the state regulators and OSM, tell them the details and insist on prompt action. Take careful notes of this discussion and follow up with a letter that describes how you remember the conversation, particularly any promises on their part.

6: Notify the police, if warranted, regarding any public safety hazard or trespass and destruction of property caused by the mine’s blasting.

7: Get a copy of the blast record as soon as possible.

8: Keep track of documentation by your neighbors. Encourage your neighbors to keep records. Comparing notes helps you identify “hot spots” where blasts are especially damaging (often places the regulators overlook).

9: Coordinate your local group’s actions. Some citizens call local news media or elected officials. TV cameras help focus regulators on their duty.

10: Follow the 12 steps for Blasting Back W consider it a “blasting emergency” anytime a blast has slammed into your home, and you know something has gone wrong and expect to find damage. We are not limiting our definition of flyrock or airblast.


The information was obtained from:
The Peoples Guide to Blasting.
Curtsey of the Hoosier Environmental Counsel