Detonating cord which has been contaminated by oil or water is less sensitive to initiation.Theretore, care should be taken to avoid the penetration of liquids from cut ends. All of Orica's detonating cords contain PETN which has been treated with a special chemical to minimise end penetration by watey^levertheless, cut ends lying in water will absdrb some moisture by "wicking11 (eg, by capillary action). For initiation of wet tails o1 cord, endpriming with a No. 8 strength detonator is usually effective. Once initiated, continuous (eg, join-free) lengths of detonating cord continue to propagate through wet sections of undamaged cord. To ensure reliable initiation of detonating cord, a pair of "starter" detonators should be used.