Investigation of the effect of blast induced vibration close to settlements on human beings

Several mines and excavation work with blasting are within city limits or close to settled areas. Blasting activities are felt by people living in proximity to them. In such a case, several complaints are inevitable. People living in these areas can be made uncomfortable by the blast vibrations and air blasts, even if particle velocities are within the vibration permissible levels for structures according to regulations. Even though, the blast induced vibrations problems are well known, there is a need to further investigate and study the human perception to induced blast vibrations. The main aim of this study was to determine the effects of blasting on human. Firstly, it was investigated the perception level and the discomfort levels of blast vibration. Also, it was investigated how gender affects the level of being uncomfortable with blast-induced vibration. For this purpose, blasting operations were followed in two different areas. Volunteers taken to the blast areas were surveyed about the vibrations exposure and perception, while blast-induced vibrations were being recorded. The questions were prepared according to 4-Point Likert scale in order to classify the vibration and to determine the discomfort level. 228 surveys were obtained from the blast events. Participants' answers were evaluated by statistical analysis methods using SPSS software. The second study is to understand the effects of blast induced vibrations on the human body and simulate such behavior in a laboratory environment. As a result, the lab simulation allowed the investigator to study their severe physical impact on the human body.