Virginia Law

Article 10. Explosives and Blasting.

A. Two or more surface magazines shall be provided for the storage of explosives and the separate storage of detonators.

B. Every surface magazine for storing and distributing explosives in an amount exceeding 150 pounds shall be:

1. Reasonably bullet-resistant and constructed of incombustible material or covered with fire-resistant material. The roof of a magazine that is located in such a way as to make it impossible to fire a bullet directly through the roof from the ground need not be bullet-resistant. Where it is possible to fire a bullet directly through a roof from the ground, such roof shall be made bullet-resistant by material construction, by the use of a ceiling that forms a tray containing not less than a four-inch thickness of sand, or by another method;

2. Provided with doors that are constructed of three-eighth-inch steel plate. Such doors shall be lined with a two-inch thickness of wood or the equivalent;

3. Provided with dry floors made of wood or other nonsparking material and have no metal exposed inside the magazine;

4. Provided with suitable warning signs located so that a bullet passing directly through the face of a sign will not strike the magazine;

5. Provided with properly screened ventilators;

6. Equipped with no openings except for entrance and ventilation openings;

7. Kept locked securely when unattended; and

8. Electrically bonded and grounded if constructed of metal.

C. A surface magazine for storing detonators need not be bullet-resistant, but it shall comply with other provisions for storing explosives.

D. Explosives weighing a total of no more than 150 pounds, or detonators numbering 5,000 or fewer, shall be stored either (i) in accordance with the standards set forth in subsection A, B, or C or (ii) in a separate locked box-type magazine. A box-type magazine may also be used as a distributing magazine when the weight of the explosives or the number of detonators does not exceed the limits set forth in this subsection. Every box-type magazine shall be strongly constructed of two-inch hardwood or the equivalent. Every metal magazine shall be lined with nonsparking material. No magazine shall be placed (a) in a building containing oil, grease, gasoline, wastepaper, or other highly flammable material or (b) within 20 feet of a stove, furnace, open fire, or flame.

E. No magazine shall be placed less than 300 feet from any mine opening. However, if a magazine cannot be practicably located at such a distance, it may be located less than 300 feet from a mine opening if it is sufficiently barricaded and is approved by the Chief. Unless approved by the Chief, no magazine shall be located closer to an occupied building, public road, or passenger railway than the distance recommended in the "American Table of Distances for Storage of Explosive Materials" published by the Institute of Makers of Explosives.

F. The supply kept in a distribution magazine shall be limited to approximately a 48-hour supply, and supplies of explosives and detonators may be distributed from the same magazine if they are separated by a substantially fastened hardwood partition at least four inches thick or the equivalent.

G. The area surrounding any magazine shall be kept free of rubbish, dry grass, or other materials of a combustible nature for at least 25 feet in every direction.

H. If an explosives magazine is illuminated electrically, each lamp shall be of vapor-proof type and installed and wired so as to present a minimal fire or contact hazard.

I. Only nonmetallic tools shall be used for opening any wooden explosives container. Extraneous materials shall not be stored with explosives or detonators in an explosives magazine.

J. Smoking or carrying smokers' articles or open flames is prohibited in or near any magazine.

Code 1950, § 45-53.2; 1954, c. 191; 1966, c. 594, § 45.1-44; 1978, c. 729; 1994, c. 28, § 45.1-161.284; 2010, cc. 809, 857; 2021, Sp. Sess. I, c. 387.

A. Every misfire shall be reported promptly to the mine foreman, and no other work shall be performed in the blasting area until the hazard has been corrected. A waiting period of at least 15 minutes is required before anyone is allowed to any misfired hole. If explosives are suspected of burning in a hole, every person affected shall move to a safe location for one hour or until the danger has passed, whichever time is longer. When such failure involves an electronic detonator, the blasting cable shall be disconnected from the source of power and the battery ends short-circuited before any electrical connection is examined.

B. Explosives shall be removed by (i) firing a separate charge at least two feet away from, and parallel to, the misfired charge; (ii) washing the stemming and the charge from the borehole with water; or (iii) inserting and firing a new primer after the stemming has been washed out.

C. A careful search of the blasting area and, if necessary, of the coal after it reaches the tipple shall be made after blasting a misfired hole to recover any undetonated explosive.

D. The handling of a misfired shot shall occur under the direct supervision of the foreman or an authorized person designated by him.

Code 1950, § 45-53.7; 1954, c. 191; 1966, c. 594, § 45.1-50; 1994, c. 28, § 45.1-161.285; 1999, c. 256; 2021, Sp. Sess. I, c. 387.

A. If explosives are in use on the surface and an electrical storm approaches, all persons shall be removed from the blast area until the storm has passed.

B. In accordance with the standards set forth in § 45.2-902, the Chief shall adopt regulations regarding the safe storage, transportation, handling, and use of blasting agents and other explosives.

Code 1950, §§ 45-53.1, 45-53.5; 1954, c. 191; 1966, c. 594, §§ 45.1-48, 45.1-53.1; 1978, c. 729; 1981, c. 179; 1984, c. 229; 1993, c. 442; 1994, c. 28, § 45.1-161.286; 1996, c. 774; 2021, Sp. Sess. I, c. 387.