The Journal of Explosives Engineering - July/August 2022 - 18

IndustryNews
OSMRE Launches
Upgraded Blasting
Webpages
Pittsburgh, PA, USA - The Office of
Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement
has remade the blasting page
(formally ARblast) at the OSMRE.GOV
website. Blasting information is found
under the programs tab and includes
three subsections: blasting, blaster certification,
and blaster training guidance.
Blasting contains a description of the
adverse effects of blasting and the historical
documentation for evaluations
and limiting the adverse effects of blasting
which is listed under ARblast - All
Resources on Blasting. Soon to be added
will be a public information section.
Blaster certification guidance is provided
to help the applicant through the
Federal application process. The certification
program
requires experience,
training and testing components similar
to many of the States. But where a
state program may focus on the specific
blasting applications within its boundary,
the OSMRE certificate requires a diverse
test to cover all potential blasting applications
and products across the nation.
Therefore, the Federal certificate is a
good surface mining credential for blasters
anywhere in the United States.
Blaster training lists the blasting topics
that will be included on the test and
provides resources to help the blaster
prepare for the test. The resources include
training modules, Federal rules
applicable to the use of explosives, and
blasting technical literature. With the
thorough review of this information, the
applicant for blaster certification will be
well prepared to pass the examination.
The Federal blaster certificate is a
good surface mining credential for blasters
anywhere in the United States and
is recognized by many state regulatory
authorities for reciprocity blaster certificates.
As such the training guidance
provided here will also help prepare
apprentice blasters with the necessary
training to achieve state certifications.
For additional information, contact Ken
Eltschlager at keltschlager@osmre.gov
or (724) 263- 8143.
18
EFEE Holds Successful
11th World Conference
in Maastricht,
Netheralands
The European Federation of Explosives
Engineers (EFEE) held its 11th
World Conference on Explosives and
Blasting Technique May 15 - 17, 2022 in
Maastricht, Netherlands. The conference
began on Sunday with a day of workshops
including a vibration workshop
presented by Charles Dowding, Thierry
Bernard, Johan Finsteen Gjodvad, and
Mathias Jern; a CO2
calculator workshop
presented by Thomas Pinel and Ricardo
Chavez; and an incident reporting
workshop by Espen Hugaas. During the
evening welcome reception ISEE representatives
Steve Shivak, Executive Director;
Janeen Smith, Vice-President; and
Alastair Torrance, Past Preseident were
welcomed on stage to present the ISEE
Distinguished Service Award to Roger
Holmberg.
On Monday the exhibit hall opened
and technical sessions began with presentations
throughout the entire day. In
the evening, an outdoor gala event was
held on the lawn of Kasteel de Hoogenwerth
with fireworks, food, wine, and
live Jazz.
Tuesday brought more technical sessions
and exhibits and the conference
concluded with a lunch in the exhibition
hall.
The next EFEE conference will take
place next year, September 10 - 12,
2023, in Dublin, Ireland.
ISEE representatives Steve Shivak, Janeen Smith, Alastair Torrance, Johan Finsteen Gjodvad with EFEE
President, Viive Tuuna.
Jerry Wallace (right) and William Gates presented " Blasting a Huge Overhang Rock Formation in an
Emergency. "
The Journal of Explosives Engineering
July/August 2022

http://www.OSMRE.GOV

The Journal of Explosives Engineering - July/August 2022

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