Blasting updates keep community informed

We’ve been busy reviewing our approach to blast design and developing a service to keep local people informed about planned blasts at Whatley – part of our commitment to being a good neighbour.

To help minimise the impact of blast disruption, we’ve trialled double decking and triple decking to reduce vibration. This involves charging explosives at two, or three, positions in one hole while keeping the same volume of explosive as a traditional one-hole simultaneous blast. Blasting is also being trialled within more stringent self-imposed parameters on the south face of the quarry.

Justin Collis, area operations manager, said: “Quarry blasting in the UK is highly regulated. While geology is the most significant factor in determining the way in which a vibration wave from a quarry blast is transmitted, the energy of the wave – shaped by the kind of explosive, the explosive charge, as well as blasting geometry and pattern – will also influence vibration levels. By adapting blast design on the south face, we are working to reduce vibration levels and thereby the way in which a blast is experienced.”

We’ve also launched a blast notification text service to keep local people in the know about our planned blasts. Those living within for those living within 1.5km of our quarry  can sign up to receive our blast notification text messages, which include a weekly update setting out planned blast times for the week ahead, plus a follow up notification approximately half an hour before each blast takes place. 

To sign up to receive the free notifications email us at whatley.quarry@hanson.com