Critical Investigation into the Drilling and Blasting Work done at the 'Mormont' Quarry in Order to Reduce Blast Vibrations

摘要

Holcim Eclepens produces about 650,000 tons of cement per year. To supply the plant with sufficient raw material in 2005 about 670,000 tons of limestone were extracted at the ,,Mormont" quarry by drilling and blasting. About 200,000 t were mined at the "Marniere" marl quarry by using an excavator. Since many years Eclepens, a village nearby the "Mormont" quarry, has been complaining about ongoing blast vibrations. Therefore, Holcim guaranteed to keep the future blast vibrations below 3mm/s, which was distinctly below the legal limit. In 2005 Holcim decided to increase the raw material extraction by 30 percent. As the people of Eclepens feared an increase of blast vibrations, too Holcim set up the working pro-gram "concept carriere 2005" to analyze critically the future impact of that extraction increase. Today, after more than 160 production blasts, only three single blasts exceeded the 3 mm/s limit. The majority of the blast vibrations are distinctly below 2 mm/s.