Ontario Aggregate Industry and Ministry of Natural Resources Continue to Ignore or Trivialize the Notoriously Dangerous and Potentially Deadly Consequences of Flyrock from Blasting (Detonation of Explosives)

Aggregate extraction is one of the most noxious, toxic and destructive uses of land, and one of the uncontrollable consequences of blasting rock is flyrock, which is a health and safety risk unknown to the general public. Flyrock is the dirty little secret of the Aggregate Industry and its Explosives Engineers. They have been remarkably successful in concealing the potentially deadly consequences of flyrock from the public while continuing to engage in reckless blasting practices based on theoretical guesswork (iterative trial and error process) and inadequate permanent onsite setbacks (excavation limits) and permanent offsite separation distances. An independent analysis of a running total of 240 (known) documented flyrock incidents as of August 2024 in various jurisdictions, in which 45 of the incidents resulted in the death of 49 individuals and injury to another 49 individuals, revealed an incident “kill” rate of 18.8% (45 ÷ 240). In Ontario, anyone can engage in blasting (detonation of explosives), as there are no statutory requirements (academic or practical) to demonstrate competency, as mandated by other jurisdictions. Government advisories about the dangers and health risks of detonating explosives incorrectly, in the wrong location or under inappropriate environmental conditions are frequently issued in several jurisdictions other than in Ontario, Canada, where oversight of the aggregate industry and its explosives engineers is ineffective or non-existent. When it comes to flyrock, the only aspects of a blast in doubt are how far flyrock debris will launch from the blast site, and whether it will damage equipment, vehicles or property, or injure, permanently disable or kill human or non-human life forms. Governments bear a fundamental duty to protect their citizens’ health, safety and welfare from all the adverse effects of aggregate extraction operations, not just flyrock.