Subway contractor wants to store more dynamite in Hollywood Hills.

The contractor building the Metro Rail Red Line subway tunnel from Universal City south to Hollywood has applied with the state's worker safety agency to store more than twice the allowable amount of explosives in the tunnel at one time.

Contractor Traylor Bros. Inc./Frontier-Kemper Constructors Inc., a joint venture based in Universal City, wants to store 10,000 pounds of powder explosives (a one-week supply) at a time and use a total of more than 250,000 pounds to blast holes in rock under the Hollywood Hills. It took approximately 4,000 pounds of explosive material to blow off the front of the federal building in Oklahoma City, and only 150 pounds to demolish what remained of it after the bombing.

The California Occupational Safety and Health Administration normally allows no more than a three-day supply of explosives to be stored in an underground "magazine."

Traylor/Frontier Project Manager George Mitteer said this type of blasting is common "when you're dealing with rock." Thus far, on the Red Line project, contractors have been tunneling through soil.

"When you drill and blast rock, you put a couple hundred pounds in a hole at a time and you keep the shaking to a minimum," said Mitteer. He said the likelihood that 10,000 pounds of explosives could be accidentally set off at once was "very remote" and he referred further inquiries to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

Gripes abound

Residents of the Hollywood Hills have already started complaining to the MTA that subway tunneling plans have hurt their property values, making it almost impossible for them to sell their homes because of the reputation the MTA has for causing damage wherever its Red Line subway tunnel goes.

Metro Rail tunneling problems under Hollywood Boulevard caused the street to sink more than 10 inches in some places, which led to cracking and separation in buildings. More than 500 business and property owners in Hollywood have sued the MTA and its contractors, claiming more than $1 billion in damage.

Cal OSHA spokesman Rick Rize noted that the reason for the three-day supply rule is the risk of hazards, such as an explosion of the supply, which could be triggered by a fire. There have been fires and explosions in Metro Rail tunnels and complaints that workers sometimes smoke in the tunnels, in violation of rules.

Rize said a variance request such as this one is "rare but not highly unusual" and will eventually be decided by the Cal OSHA Standards Board, which is a board appointed by the governor.

According to letters sent to Cal OSHA by Mitteer and W.A. Murphy Inc. of El Monte (Traylor/Frontier's explosives distributor), drilling and blasting is scheduled to start in June 1996 and continue for 14 months.

Different schedule

Allowing 10,000 pounds to be stored at one time would allow for weekly or biweekly delivery of explosives, rather than daily delivery and pick-up.

"Daily delivery of powder to the project appears to be the least desirable alternative due to the long duration of the blasting activity and the 24-hour per day work day," Mitteer wrote.

The explosives will be used in the tunnel to make room for such things as machine rooms, vent shafts and cross passages connecting tunnels. The storage magazine would be located in a cross passage 700 feet underground.

MTA spokesman Steve Chesser said the MTA "does not have the expertise to comment" on the explosives issue but trusts Cal OSHA to make such decisions regarding safety.

"That's what Cal OSHA is for," Chesser said.

Mitteer said Cal OSHA responded to his request by sending the contractor more paperwork to complete.