Gasses and Contamination from Blasting

According to NIOSH ( National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health)blasting at surface mines produces the toxic gases, nitrogen dioxide (NO2), nitric oxide (NO), and carbon monoxide (CO). NIOSH states that surface blasting creates enough toxic fumes to have the potential to create hazards. NIOSH recommends monitoring the air and evacuating neighbors if fumes appear. No prevailing wind tests have been conducted for the Cape Cod Aggregates quarry site in Berkley, Freetown. Cape Cod Aggregates has not provided any information on if or how they will monitor the air during blasting. Cape Cod Aggregates has not produced a written plan that would demonstrate how they plan to protect public safety or evacuate in an emergency.

In addition to creating toxic clouds that contaminate the air, blasting gases and residue can also create ground and ground water contamination.

Some of the blasts used in surface mining produce a product cloud colored red or orange by the presence of NO2. NIOSH asserts that in the interest of safety every blaster should assume that any blasting product cloud is unsafe to breathe.

Carbon monoxide may travel up to several hundred feet and collect at toxic levels in the basements of nearby homes. Carbon monoxide is odorless so there is no obvious indication that a hazard exists. There have been thirty-nine suspected or medically verified carbon monoxide poisonings in homes from surface mining operations, with one fatality. According to NIOSH, in one incident in Kittanning, Pennsylvania, blasting fumes traveled 450 feet from a coal strip mine into a home, poisoning a couple and their baby. All three recovered following treatment in a hyperbaric chamber. CO moves through cracks and fissures in the ground. Homes with a French Drain are more likely to create a direct pathway for the fumes to collect. Studies recommend that the blaster place CO monitors in occupied parts of nearby homes and businesses. Berkley residents requested CO monitors from CCA or their blasting company and CCA flatly refused.

Nitrates that are not burned off during the explosion contaminate the ground and can cause contamination of ground water in private wells. Material Data Safety Sheets provided by CCA show that they are using nitro glycerine ignited by ANFO. Nitro glycerine continates nitrates that can easily contaminate the ground and groundwater. Residents depend on private wells as the only source of drinking water. ANFO contains a number of contaminates and can create a toxic orange cloud if ignited incorrectly.

Blasting releases radon gas that exists naturally in the ground. Radon released from blasting collects in the basements of nearby homes. Radon is the second largest cause of lung cancer in the United States. The risk of radon in our area is moderate on a scale of low, moderate, high from information available from the state. While our risk is not high, it is not low. Even in areas with a low risk, high pockets of radon can still exist at specific locations.