40 ◾ Risk Assessment and Security
2.5.17 Calculation of Explosives
One way to calculate the total quantity of explosives recommended by Langefors
and Khilstrom (1963) is
0.07 0.4 0.004
23 4
=++
where
B is the burden in meters
Q is the quantity of explosive in kilograms
e rst term is the explosive needed to produce the surface blast design and to
satisfy other dissipative processes. e second term is the principal term that relates
the weight of the explosive and the weight of rock. e third term, usually very
small, provides the energy for the swelling and lifting of the mass.
2.5.18 Hazards of Explosives
High explosives are capable of severely mutilating the human body. Explosives tend
to rip the body into dierent pieces like a shark wit