SUNDAY, AUGUST 7, 1977
+BECAUSE OF THE NATURE OF THE SITE AND THE COMPLEXITY OF THE PROJECT ITSELF WE'VE NEEDED TO CARRY OUT A SERIES OF BLASTS TO IMPROVE EXCAVATION PROGRESS FOR THE FOUNDATION WORK, AND WATER GEL HAS PROVED EXTREMELY EFFECTIVE,+ SAID MR. JULIAN WALLACE, RESIDENT ENGINEER IN CHARGE OF BLASTING AT THE HOPEWELL CENTRE SITE.
+DYNAMITE WOULD PROBABLY HAVE SERVED AS WELL, HE ADDED, +BUT WATER GEL GIVES YOU A MUCH WIDER SAFETY MARGIN AND IS FAR EASIER TO HANDLE.
+ IN PRACTICAL TERMS, IT THEREFORE HAS DISTINCT ADVANTAGES OVER DYNAMITE.
+FOR INSTANCE, WATER GEL DOES NOT CAUSE THE SEVERE HEADACHES ASSOCIATED WITH DYNAMITE AND IT ALLOWS MUCH BETTER CONTROL OVER VIBRATION IN THE TYPE OF BLASTING THAT WE ARE DOING,+ SAID MR. WALLACE.
WATER GEL IN CARTRIDGES WAS FIRST INTRODUCED INTO HONG KONG IN 1974 BY THE AMERICAN FIRM DU PONT WHICH IS THE MAJOR SUPPLIER OF 'SLURRY' EXPLOSIVES TO HONG KONG. A LIMITED QUANTITY IS ALSO IMPORTED BY THE BRITISH FIRM I.C.I.
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