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Tony Sevelka
International Valuation Consultants Inc., 18140 Cataract Road, Caledon, Ontario L7K 1P1 Canada.
Email: info@intval.com | ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2210-421X
Journal of Policy & Governance, 06(01) (June 2026), 25-65. https://doi.org/10.33002/jpg060102
Received: 29 December 2025
Published: 27 June 2026
Reviewed: 19 May 2026
Accepted: 30 May 2026
No. of Views:
No. of Paper Downloads:
Explosives are widely used to break rock efficiently, serving the financial interests of the construction and aggregate extraction industries, but blasting produces significant adverse effects both onsite and offsite. These include contaminants such as dust, toxic fumes, airblast, noise, ground vibrations, flyrock debris, and emotional distress, collectively affecting the health, safety and welfare of surrounding communities. This paper focuses on flyrock debris, which, because of its potential to harm, permanently disable or kill human and non-human life, is widely regarded as the most severe and unpredictable adverse effect. Even with costly safety measures such as blast mats, flyrock cannot be eliminated, and the only uncertainty is how far flyrock debris will travel, and whether it will cause property damage, injury, permanent disability or death. Systemic underreporting, concealment of incidents, inadequate management practices, ineffective oversight, and the use of non-disclosure agreements mean that flyrock incidents are tracked primarily through news releases, journals, formal investigations and court rulings. In jurisdictions such as Ontario, Canada, flyrock debris that remains on site or that results in a near-miss onsite is not reportable, further contributing to chronic underreporting and secrecy. Reliance on formula-based throw distance calculations, which are incapable of accounting for uncontrollable and unknowable factors, further obscures empirical evidence from documented flyrock incidents. This paper synthesizes documented cases, regulatory frameworks and investigative findings to demonstrate that flyrock is neither rare nor anomalous, but a recurrent systemic hazard across blasting operations. The findings highlight that effective prevention requires appropriately sized permanent onsite setbacks and offsite separation distances, consistent with the Precautionary Principle, to ensure public health and safety from the full spectrum of blast-related impacts.
Keywords: Flyrock; Misfires; Secondary blasting; Blasting operations; Land use compatibility; Regulatory oversight; Systemic underreporting; Setbacks; Systemic risk
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Sevelka, T. (2026). Flyrock as a Systemic Hazard: Empirical Travel Distances, Regulatory Failures, Land-Use Incompatibility, and Intergenerational Risk. Journal of Policy & Governance, 06(01): 25-65. DOI: https://doi.org/10.33002/jpg060102
Sevelka, T. Flyrock as a Systemic Hazard: Empirical Travel Distances, Regulatory Failures, Land-Use Incompatibility, and Intergenerational Risk. Journal of Policy & Governance, 2026, 06 (01), 25-65. https://doi.org/10.33002/jpg060102
Sevelka, Tony. 2026. “Flyrock as a Systemic Hazard: Empirical Travel Distances, Regulatory Failures, Land-Use Incompatibility, and Intergenerational Risk”. Journal of Policy & Governance, 06 no. 01: 25-65. https://doi.org/10.33002/jpg060102
Sevelka, Tony. 2026. “Flyrock as a Systemic Hazard: Empirical Travel Distances, Regulatory Failures, Land-Use Incompatibility, and Intergenerational Risk”. Journal of Policy & Governance, 06 (01): 25-65. https://doi.org/10.33002/jpg060102
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