Criteria for the environmental assessment of seismic effects arising from the production of industrial explosions

Abstract

Introduction: The article presents the results of the analysis of seismic effects associated with the production of industrial explosions in quarries for the extraction of minerals. The region has over 20 quarries where between 300 and 500 explosions are produced annually. This releases 1010-1013 J of seismic energy. Methodology: An experiment was conducted to determine the presence or absence of induced seismicity. For this, seismic stations were installed around the Pavlovsk quarry at different azimuths at a distance of 60 km from the quarry. 8 hours after the explosion at the Pavlovsk quarry with a yield of 300 tons of explosives, 5 low magnitude seismic events occurred. They accumulated within the Liski zone of seismic activity. Results and discussion: The environmental consequences of industrial explosions have been assessed. It was shown that short-delay industrial explosions have a significant impact on the geological environment. They create the prerequisites for induced seismicity and excite seismic vibrations in a wide range of frequencies that spread over large distances. The maximum amplitude of the vibrations varies from tens ofnm/s to 1000 μm/s. The duration of the exposure is from a few seconds to 5 minutes. The analysis of a large amount of data was used to develop criteria to evaluate how favourable the human habitat is. Conclusions: Four levels characterised by a system of seismic indications have been distinguished by the impact of industrial explosions on the comfortability of the environment: comfortable, hypercomfortable, uncomfortable, and extreme.