Explosives training in SA

SafeWork SA and Cranfield Defence Academy hosted a training course on explosives safety last week for more than 100 delegates.

"The course was framed around the basic chemistry principles of energetic materials and their related specialised safety issues," Ray Clifford, manager of SafeWork SA's Dangerous Substances Team told Safety Solutions.

"The topics included: explosive characteristics, the explosion process, initiation of explosives, effects of explosives, requirements and testing. It broadly covered military, commercial and improvised explosives," he said.

The course was initiated as part of ongoing training for new SafeWork SA employees who will implement the national security regulations for ammonium nitrate. The SA state government is looking at whether similar Cranfield courses can be run in conjunction with SA universities.

"As Australia is one of the world's largest users of commercial explosives, it is clear there is a strong demand for cutting edge safety information," Michele Patterson, executive director of SafeWork SA said.

"Given the rapid expansion of South Australia's mining industry and its reliance on explosives, and with its defence facilities, South Australia is well placed to lead in this area," she said.

It was the first time the course had been presented on behalf of a state safety authority. Dr Michael Cartright and Dr Alan Bailey from Cranfield have presented the training previously to the Department of Defence and defence-related industries.

Wendy Cramer, Safety Solutions Editor