National Park Service Handbook for the Transportation, and Use of Explosives

This guide for National Park Service blasters presents minimum requirements for using, storing, and transporting explosives and blasting materials. These requirements are essential to ensure that blasting activities are accomplished safely and to prevent theft of explosives materials. The guide consolidates information needed to conduct normal National Park Service operations into one source, but it is not intended to be all inclusive. There are many other supporting documents that should be referred to by National Park Service blasters. This document contains rules for procurement, possession, storage, transportation, and use of explosives materials within the National Park Service. Understanding that conditions may exist in operations where certain standards will not have practical application, a regional blasting officer or his/her authorized representative may, pursuant to this document, and appropriate administrative requirements of the service blasting officer and industries standards, and upon request of application, and after adequate investigation by the service blasting officer or his authorized representative, permit a variation from these requirements when other means of providing an equivalent measure of protection can afford. Such variation granted shall be limited to the particular case or cases covered in the application for variance and may be revoked for cause. Variance application may be submitted in a memo format and approved in same. In regard to the many requirements for explosives use, as well as the service, variation, and complexities encountered, we cannot anticipate all conditions in which explosives may be employed. The information in this handbook is considered reliable, but blasters should make their own tests to determine the applicability of information or the suitability of any product and/or method described for their own particular purpose. Therefore, it is the park blaster-in-charge who is ultimately responsible for all purchasing, transportation, storage, and handling of explosives materials, ensuring the most safe and efficient use of explosives and their components.