People who blow things up in Missouri come under state regulation for the first time in two weeks.

The office of the Missouri Fire Marshall has been working on regulations since the legislature passed the Blasting Safety Act in 2007. It licenses people who do blasting for construction and mining and other purposes, and sets up regulations they have to follow. Fire Marshall Randy Cole says blasters asked for the statewide regulations so they don’t have to face inconsistent local regulations. He says public safety is an issue too. He says national standards on distance requirements, seismograph readings, amounts of explosives used, timing of blasts and other technical requirements have been written into Missouri’s regulations. The fire marshal’s office says complaints about blasting usually center on noise and shaking but few incidents have exceeded national or industry standards.The new regulations will be enforced by a seven-member board backed up by a dozen Fire Marshall inspectors. 

download bob priddy’s story (:58 mp3)