NewsChannel5.com | Nashville News, Weather & SportsWoman Fights Against Blasting

Woman Fights Against Blasting

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Two weeks after another rock-related incident, there's no sign of a local blasting battle ending anytime soon.

Nina Ground believes her Madison home is crumbling because of four and a half years of nearby industrial blasting.

"My tile in my bathroom's cracked. All around my ceilings are cracked. This isn't settling. My doors don't close there. They closed fine when I bought it."

She is circulating a petition to stop all blasting across Tennessee until policies can be changed.

Tennessee lawmakers are taking note.

"I would like to see the actual intensity of those blasts decreased. So, it won't have such a severe impact on the homes," said state Rep. Brenda Gilmore, a Nashville Democrat.

Gilmore said new laws must protect the little guy without bringing development to a screeching halt.

But Ground sees it differently. She wants an immediate moratorium on all blasting statewide.

Ground insists there are less destructive alternatives to blasting.

"I'm definitely not anti-progress. But I definitely believe that there is technology available to us today that we're not using," she said. "And that's a point that needs to be exploited."

Of less explosive options, Ground said that "unfortunately, for the explosives suppliers and for some of your dynamiters it's not good because it's competition. But that's what America's built on: Competition."

Residents in Madison were rattled by blasting as recently as two weeks ago at the construction site of a new Wal-Mart and Lowe's.

Thomas and Associates of La Vergne, the contractor in charge of that blasting, has not returned repeated phone calls.

Ground said her insurance isn't covering the damage in her home.

To read her blog, to sign her petition, or to learn more about alternatives to blasting, http://action.ninaground.com/