The use of explosives to break rock is an intrinsically hazardous process. These hazards have been studied over the years and modern mining methods have evolved to minimize the inherent risks of blasting under most conditions.
These guidelines have been developed to assist the safe use of explosives in situations where a specific additional hazard may arise due to the generation of nitrogen oxides (NOx) within the post-blast gases. These oxides are generally regarded as products arising from imperfect decomposition of ammonium nitrate explosives during detonation.
The purpose of these guidelines is to inform explosives users of:
- the hazards of NOx gases
- the likely causes of their generation from blasting
- possible measures to eliminate or minimize NOx generation
- to provide general management advice in the event of NOx incidents.