An analysis and policy implications of comfort levels of diverse constituents with reported units for blast vibrations and limits: closing the communication gap

Author

Braden Lusk, Missouri University of Science and TechnologyFollow

Abstract

"Differences exist between public perception of construction blasting and quarry blasting. In general, people are able to tolerate short term inconveniences much better than long term ones. Quarries and other long term mining operations utilizing blasting are coming under increasing public and legislative pressure in the United States. The question being posed for the blasting industry is, "Has our past haste in adopting complex scientific scales and units been detrimental to us?" In other words, are the most palatable things being reported? The goal of this dissertation is to determine whether current units create an atmosphere of discomfort among neighbors to quarries, putting the public relations efforts of the company at a disadvantage from the start. Several Likert scaled surveys were distributed and analyzed across many constituencies. The surveys evaluate the decibel (dB) scale against millibar and pounds per square inch (PSI) as units for measurement of airblast pressure. Peak Particle Velocity (PPV) and frequency (Hz) were also compared to displacement in both inches (in) and millimeters (mm) for vibration measurement. Other qualitative data was gathered to direct future work in this area. Pilot surveys have been administered and their results published over the past three years. The thesis work is a much more comprehensive analysis of surveys modeled after the original survey described in the introduction. The industry is already starting the process of rethinking how it handles the vibration issue. The past practice of treading softly as an industry has been proven to be a poor choice, and education of the public as well as lawmakers on all levels is necessary"--Abstract, page iii.

Advisor(s)

Worsey, Paul Nicholas

Committee Member(s)

Baird, Jason, 1955-
Tsoulfanidis, Nicholas, 1938-
Bullock, Richard Lee, 1929-
Grayson, R. Larry

Department(s)

Mining Engineering

Degree Name

Ph. D. in Mining Engineering

Comments

Accompanying CD-ROM, available at Missouri S&T Library, contains Appendix F: "Statistical reliability spreadsheets and unformatted data from all survey pools", page 144.

Publisher

University of Missouri--Rolla

Publication Date

Spring 2006

Pagination

x, 152 pages; CD-ROM

Note about bibliography

Includes bibliographical references (pages 146-151).

Rights

© 2006 Braden Trex Lusk, All rights reserved.

Document Type

Dissertation - Open Access

File Type

text

Language

English

Subject Headings

Blast effectBlastingExplosivesSoils -- Vibration

Thesis Number

T 8985

Print OCLC #

123084975

Electronic OCLC #

775010159

Recommended Citation

Lusk, Braden, "An analysis and policy implications of comfort levels of diverse constituents with reported units for blast vibrations and limits: closing the communication gap" (2006). Doctoral Dissertations. 1865.
https://scholarsmine.mst.edu/doctoral_dissertations/1865