AIMING TO THE PERFECT BLASTING RESULT REALITY OR JUST A UTOPIA? FACTS, PARAMETERS AND THOUGHTS BASED ON TWO CASE HISTORIES FROM EGNATIA ODOS – RING ROAD OF SALONICA SECTION, IN NORTHERN HELLAS

5th International Scientific Conference - SGEM2005, www.sgem.org, SGEM2005 Conference Proceedings/ ISBN: 954-918181-2, June 13-17, 2005, 199- 210pp

ABSTRACT

The flyrock from blasting operations can harm, damage or expose the workers of a
particular worksite or the dwellers of a wider area of extractive activities (quarry, mine,
construction site) to damage risks; in some cases even death might be caused, too.
There are certain and different ideas and theoretical approaches regarding the evaluation of
causes and the implementation of flyrock prevention measures to be taken, as well. This
implementation, however, in practice requires a more delicate and rather professional management
that will have to be highly effective; unfortunately, its true value will only be judged from its final
outcome.
In July 2003, we happened to manage a particular blast operation in which we had to be
exceptionally careful to prevent, or at least minimize, flyrock from happening. That was a quite
challenging situation because the blast site was too close to a heavy traffic motorway, the Ring-
Road of Salonica, in Northern Hellas (*).
The parameters and characteristic elements that had been evaluated, the measures that
had been taken and materialized, the overall risk management, that had been considered the best for us to implement and materialize in order to succeed in achieving a perfect blast
project with zero flyrock events, are analyzed in the followings.