Marine Atlantic Blast Monitoring Program - Port aux Basques, NL

Due to the presence of surficial bedroom within the footprint of the Port aux Basques Marine Atlantic Administration Building, blasting of the bedrock was required for site grading. Consideration for the property owners within the blasting zone of influence was required, and a due diligence program of retaining a blast/vibration engineer was required by the town of Port aux Basques.

AllRock was retained to act as the Vibration Engineer for the project. AllRock has significant experience as a vibration engineer in Toronto, Ottawa and Newfoundland and Labrador. AllRock begun the project establishing a Zone of Influence (ZOI) utilizing information provided by the blasting contractor and geological conditions. Once the ZOI was determined, a pre-blast survey was required for all properties within the ZOI, which totaled to seventy-one (71) properties including 2, schools, 1 recreational centre and 1 industrial building. AllRock drew upon its experience providing pre blast surveying in Toronto, Ottawa and Newfoundland and Labrador, to establish PBS procedures. All of the properties and infrastructure were photographed and surveyed by AllRock technicians. Once the surveying was completed, AllRock drew upon its experience of blast monitoring in Newfoundland and Labrador to monitor properties using seismographs stationed at strategic locations near property and infrastructure. Similar vibration monitoring projects in Ottawa, for example, would require part-time monitoring of vibration monitors using remote monitoring capabilities. However, this project required full-time monitoring during all blasting periods for a period of four (4) weeks.