Swampscott, Salem Residents Say Quarry Blasting Getting Worse

SWAMPSCOTT, MA — Residents in Swampscott and Salem say blasting from the Aggregate Industries quarry on Danvers Road in Swampscott has been worse than normal this summer and, in some cases, has caused structural damages in nearby homes. Blasting at the quarry has been a topic at the last two Swampscott Selectboard's meetings. At the Sept. 24 meeting Aggregate said the more intense blasting was temporary.

While the quarry, which crosses into a portion of Salem, has been in operation at the site since the 1930s, some long-time residents said blasts on Aug. 14 and 30 and Sept. 16 were the worst they had ever felt or heard. A Salem resident filed a formal complaint about the Sept. 16 blast, which registered a decibel level of 120. State regulations allow blasting decibel levels up to 130.

Other residents who had never felt vibrations from the operation reported feeling blasts on those dates. That included Selectboard Chairman Peter Spellios, who said his house is 1.6 miles from the quarry.

"I heard it, I felt it. It was abnormally large," Spellios said of the Aug. 14 blast, which generated five complaints to the Swampscott Fire Department. "Something feels different now....we are interested in figuring out how to address it, but it's not as simple as just saying 'Stop.'"

According to Aggregate Industries, the more intense blasts have come as workers try to reshape the floor of the quarry to reduce flooding. A representative from the company told the selectboard that the process involved downward blasting, which increased vibrations from the typical, mining blasting nearby residents have grown accustomed to since the quarry resumed operations in 2011. The operation has also increased the frequency of blasting.

The selectboard is considering possible changes to the annual permit the town issues to aggregate, including:

• Changing to location of the siren that warns residents a blast is about to happen.
• Reduction to the depth at which charges can be placed in the ground.
• Reducing the number of holes used in a single blast.
• Limiting the amount of explosives that can be used in blasts.
• A call list to notify residents when blasting will occur outside of permitted times.
• Video of all blasts submitted to the Swampscott Fire Department.
• Surveys in the most-affected neighborhoods.
• Increased monitoring of blasting impact, including increased use of seismographs to measure ground vibrations.

Property owners who believe their property was damaged by the blasting can fill out a blasting regulatory review form and submit it to the Swampscott Fire Department. The forms must be submitted within 30 days of the blasting. More information on blasting regulations, including a fact sheet for property owners, is available from the Massachusetts Department of Fire Services.

Dave Copeland covers Swampscott and other North Shore communities for Patch. He can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).