Mass explosions in ore pits are powerful sources of environmental pollution. In the process of explosion, a dust cloud is formed, containing a significant amount of solid products of destruction of rocks and toxic gases, which are transported over significant distances, polluting the surrounding area of the quarry. The environmental damage caused to the surrounding area is partially compensated by penalties to mining enterprises from environmental authorities, but it does not eliminate the problem of environmental pollution.
The water cut of working benches in ore pits does not allow the wide use of the simplest types of explosives and causes the necessity of using water-resistant explosives, which significantly increases the cost of blasting operations. In cases when granulotols are used in watered boreholes, there is a very significant environmental load due to increased toxicity of explosion products and high dust-forming ability.
