Explosives: Types, Characteristics, Storage and Transport
Shotfirers work with two broad families: high explosives, which detonate and are used as primers and in some bulk applications, and blasting agents such as ANFO, which are less sensitive and require a strong primer. Understand the terms: detonation velocity, density, water resistance, sensitivity, critical diameter, and the difference between deflagration and detonation. Fume class matters underground and in confined spaces because toxic gases are produced.
Storage questions test segregation, quantity limits, magazine construction and security, and the separation of detonators from explosives. Detonators are stored separately from bulk explosives and from each other by type where required. Keep an accurate stock record and reconcile it; discrepancies are reportable events. Damaged or deteriorated explosive must be isolated and dealt with under the site's procedures, never simply returned to stock.
Transport questions test packaging, vehicle placarding, driver competence, segregation of incompatible goods, and the documentation that must accompany a load. A frequent trap is assuming that because a substance is "only" a blasting agent it can be carried or stored like ordinary goods; the transport and storage rules still apply.
Rule of thumb: the more sensitive the item (detonators, primers), the stricter the segregation and the smaller the permitted quantity in any one place.
Worked example: a delivery arrives with detonators and ANFO on the same vehicle. They must be segregated according to the transport rules and, on site, taken to separate stores; the receiving shotfirer records quantities into each magazine's stock record.