Is Construction Blasting Still Abnormally Dangerous?

Abstract

The main premise of this paper is that construction blasting is no longer an abnormally dangerous activity using the six factors presented in Section 520 of the Second Restatement of the Law of Torts. Though blasting is considered to be the paradigm strict liability activity, it appears to be more appropriate to regulate it using the general negligence framework for tort liability because of advances in blasting technology over the past 40 years. This paper examines the current application of strict tort liability for nontrespassory effects of construction blasting, presents advances in construction blasting technology that allow control of nontrespassory blasting effects on adjacent structures, and analyzes the six factors presented in Section 520 of the Second Restatement of the Law of Torts used to determine whether or not an activity is abnormally dangerous.