In quarry mining, explosives are used directly or indirectly in almost every aspect of our lives. Car, trucks, roads, bridges, homes, and office buildings are all built with products that had their origins with explosives. In construction, blasting ledge or boulders may be required to excavate for foundations, road, and utility installation. Blasting is exponentially faster and less invasive than mechanical means of rock removal, for example Hoe-ram (Hammer on the end of an excavator). A house foundation that would take weeks for a hoe ram that emits noise and vibration all day, can be blasted in a single day with explosives with blast duration of less than 1 second.

A pre-blast survey is a survey of the existing conditions of the property before blasting commences by an independent third party. It is a good opportunity for the property owner to ask questions and raise concerns.

No. We strictly adhere to standards that your state, the United States Bureau of Mines (USBM 8507), and the Office of Surface Mining have determined to be safe blasting vibration limits. These standards are long proven and scientifically tested to keep structures and wells safe from vibration damage. We use seismographs for all blasts and are strictly regulated by the state.

In most instances A-1 Drilling and Blasting employs their own seismographs to monitor vibration caused by blasting. State law requires at least 1 seismograph be placed at the closest inhabited structure to the blast. All seismographs are calibrated annually and set up by a trained technician. All vibration and noise level limits are established by years of research and are proven to be well below the threshholds for property damage.