The-Press-News.com - Wind, rain, slamming doors more damaging than blasting, ODNR rep tells Pike residents

By KAREN MUNDY

The Press-News

PIKE TOWNSHIP -- Mike Mann, from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, gave an extensive presentation and answered questions during Monday night's board of trustees meeting. The subject was mining and its effect on residents and businesses in the area.

Meeting in the garage area of the township administration building, trustees and residents viewed videos, maps and information about mining and blasting in the area. Mann said he would "present facts about mining and blasting."

According to information handed out at the meeting from ODNR, "each day in Ohio, nearly half a million pounds of explosives are safely donated in quarries and surface coal mines." However, Mann also told the crowd that since "the cost of explosives is so incredibly high, they (mining companies) don't blast if they do not have to."

The ODNR is the agency responsible for regulating environmental effects of mining and blasting.

Most blasting is done with a mixture of ammonium nitrate and fuel oil, instead of dynamite that once was used. Blasting can only be done by certified workers.

Mann also explained ground vibrations and air blasts. He compared ground blasts and vibrations to ripples in water when a stone is thrown. When a blast detonates, some of the explosive energy not utilized in breaking rock, travels through the ground in all directions as wave motion. The ground vibration travels mainly along the surface at speeds of 5,000 to 20,000 feet per second. Blasting seismographs are used to measure ground vibrations. He said that seismographs have been placed on the property of several residents.

According to seismograph reports, Mann was able to tell residents how many blasts took place in various areas of the township and the velocity of the blasts. In addition, airblasts are measured with a special microphone connected to a seismograph.

Mann said mining companies are given limits to the amount of velocity allowed for ground vibrations and airblasts. In Ohio, ground vibrations must not exceed one inch per second, and airblasts must not exceed 133 decibels at any dwelling.

Mann said that when a company exceeds these limits, such as Penn-Ohio Coal Company did last year, a notice is issued. The company was issued a notice for "unscheduled blasting" and exceeding the airblast decibel limit. The company paid a fine of $920, and the blaster may have to pay a $600 fine.

A resident at the meeting asked, "What does it accomplish? You are just shaking a finger at them."

Mann said that if the illegal blasting continues, a company's blasting permit could be revoked.

Another resident asked if blasting is done at about the same time each day. She said she could tell each day that it is 4 p.m. because she feels vibrations every day at that time in her home. Mann said most companies blast from about 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. during the winter and 8 a.m. to 6:30 during other times of the year. He also said that three long signals from a horn are given before every blast, but he said that unless someone was outside and weather conditions are just right, they probably would not hear the horn.

Residents asked about structural damage to their homes caused by the vibrations. Mann said the vibrations, although "annoying" and "startling," are well below limits that would cause damage to a home. Mann said dishes and windows may rattle, but he said natural, daily effects would do more damage to a house than the blasting. He said more damaging effects include doors slamming, nails being pounded, sunlight, wind, rain, temperature changes and humidity.

Trustee Lee Strad asked if the mining could affect the quality of the water supply for residents. Mann admitted he was not an expert when it came to the effects of mining on water. However, he said he did not think mining would affect the quality or quantity of water. He said mining companies must submit extensive hydrological plans, which ODNR reviews.

Strad also asked who residents should call if they have complaints about blasting in their area. Mann said they should first call one of the four mining companies that are blasting in the area. However, Mann said the three main companies are Penn-Ohio Coal Company, doing business as Kimble Clay and Limestone; Buckeye Industrial Mining Company, Inc. and Valley Mining Inc.

If residents are not satisfied with the answers and help they receive from the mining companies, Mann invited them to contact ODNR by calling 330-339-2207.