(The Center Square) – Clark Mica understands not many people think about the way commercial explosives have helped transform the country. However, the president of the Institute of Makers of Explosives hopes a recent study will shine the light on an industry that’s essential to construction and mining.
“Throughout our nation’s history, commercial explosives have not only helped build America, they have enabled our modern way of life,” he said. “Whether it is the car you drive to work, the fuel you use to power your car, the roads you drive on, or the mobile phone you use to communicate, explosives make all of these things possible.”
The report breaks down the $19 billion economic impact commercial explosives have on a state level. Nationally, their use helped create more than 60,000 jobs and $5 billion in wages. Kentucky is one of the states that has benefitted the most from their use. According to IME, the Bluegrass State had the seventh-highest economic impact at $670.5 million and the eighth-most jobs and wages.
Last year, the use of explosives led to 2,634 direct and indirect jobs, nearly 550 more than the industry produced in New York. Workers in those jobs earned more than $213.3 million, and the average salary for the 828 direct industry jobs exceeded $102,000.
More than $115 million in taxes were generated by the industry in Kentucky, with $52.9 million going to the federal government and the rest going to the state and localities.
“This report shows the incredible success of the commercial explosives industry,” said Tim O’Brien, president of Detotec North America, Inc., and chair of IME’s board of governors. “The commercial explosives industry creates good paying career opportunities with good benefits while also making a positive economic impact in our local communities.”
In Kentucky, the use of commercial explosives has helped the state move forward on the Mountain Parkway Expansion Project. The state highway connects Eastern Kentucky to Interstate 64 just east of Winchester, less than 20 miles east of Lexington.
Work on the project began nine years ago, and last week, the Federal Highway Administration finished its environmental review for the final segment, a 13-mile extension of the 75-mile road. When that final leg is finished, there will be 400 continuous miles of four-lane, high-speed highway running from Paducah in Western Kentucky to Pikeville in Eastern Kentucky that state officials believe will help create new opportunities for business statewide.
Naitore Djigbenou, the executive director for the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet’s Office of Public Affairs, told The Center Square that the use of explosives makes construction work like the Mountain Parkway expansion more efficient.
“Every section of the Mountain Parkway Expansion Project in Eastern Kentucky has utilized explosives to blast rock,” Djigbenou said. “The fractured rock has been repurposed to create roadway fills for other portions of the parkway. To protect people and properties, contractors are required to submit blasting plans before the work begins.”
