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48% Chance of Automation

“Blaster” will probably not be replaced by robots.

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Job Description

Place and detonate explosives to demolish structures or to loosen, remove, or displace earth, rock, or other materials. May perform specialized handling, storage, and accounting procedures. Includes seismograph shooters.

Job Details

The SOC (Standard Occupational Classification) code is 47-5031.00
The Mean Annual Wage in the U.S. is $ 54,580.00
The Mean Hourly Wage is $ 26.00
Currently, there are 6,310 people on this job

☝️ Information based on the reference occupation “Explosives Workers, Ordnance Handling Experts, and Blasters”.

Also Known As…

Tasks for “Blaster”

Light fuses, drop detonating devices into wells or boreholes, or activate firing devices with plungers, dials, or buttons, in order to set off single or multiple blasts.
Place explosive charges in holes or other spots; then detonate explosives to demolish structures or to loosen, remove, or displace earth, rock, or other materials.
Observe odometers, weight indicators, and instrument panels in trucks in order to position guns at predetermined points in wells.
Set up and operate short-wave radio or field telephone equipment to transmit and receive blast information.
Examine blast areas to determine amounts and kinds of explosive charges needed and to ensure that safety laws are observed.
Move and store inventories of explosives, loaded perforating guns, and other materials, according to established safety procedures.
Verify detonation of charges by observing control panels, or by listening for the sounds of blasts.
Clean, gauge, and lubricate gun ports.
Insert, pack, and pour explosives, such as dynamite, ammonium nitrate, black powder, or slurries into blast holes; then shovel drill cuttings, admit water into boreholes, and tamp material to compact charges.
Insert waterproof sealers, bullets, and/or powder charges into guns, and screw gun ports back into place.
Assemble and position equipment, explosives, and blasting caps in holes at specified depths, or load perforating guns or torpedoes with explosives.
Lower perforating guns into wells, using hoists; then use measuring devices and instrument panels to position guns in correct positions for taking samples.
Connect electrical wire to primers, and cover charges or fill blast holes with clay, drill chips, sand, or other material.
Tie specified lengths of delaying fuses into patterns in order to time sequences of explosions.
Place safety cones around blast areas to alert other workers of danger zones, and signal workers as necessary to ensure that they clear blast sites prior to explosions.
Connect gun chambers to electric detonating devices, and operate controls at panelboards, in order to detonate charges in guns or to ignite chemical charges.
Repair electrical instruments, using electricians' hand tools.
Compile and keep gun and explosives records in compliance with local and federal laws.
Repair and service blasting, shooting, and automotive equipment, and electrical wiring and instruments, using hand tools.
Signal hoist operators to lower torpedoes or sample-taking guns into wells and to raise equipment for sampling from blast holes after detonation.
Obtain samples of earth from sidewalls of well boreholes, using electrically exploding devices.
Maintain inventory levels, ordering new supplies as necessary.
Insert powder charges into chambers of sidewall sample-taking cylinders, and assemble cylinders, using special wrenches.
Mark patterns, locations, and depths of charge holes for drilling, and issue drilling instructions.
Drive trucks to transport explosives and blasting equipment to blasting sites.
Set up and operate equipment such as hoists, jackhammers, or drills, in order to bore charge holes.
Lay primacord between rows of charged blast holes, and tie cord into main lines to form blast patterns.
Measure depths of drilled blast holes, using weighted tape measures.
Cut specified lengths of primacord and attach primers to cord ends.

Related Technology & Tools

Coated gloves
Wire cleaning brushes
Stakebed trucks
Wire strippers
Perforating casing guns
Blasthole drills
Portable signal generators
Remote firing devices
Explosive blasting caps
Digital calculators
Electrical circuit testers
End cutting pliers
Avalaunchers
Flashing warning lights
Protective safety glasses
Protective ear plugs
Dewatering pumps
Clinometers
Harpoon retrievers
Phillips head screwdrivers
Ring gauges
Depth measurement gauges
Forklifts
Plumb bobs
Spring scales
Wood wedges
Safety goggles
Phase rotation meters
Safety cones
Tamping rods
Hand shears
Test lamps
Vernier calipers
Wheeled wire dispensers
Non-contact voltage testers
Resistance testers
Digital voltmeters
Digital ammeters
Blasting cap crimpers
Fuse testers
Padded gloves
Jackhammers
Balance scales
Instantaneous electrical detonators
Hand chisels
Seismic activity recorders
Long period delay detonators
Surface connector blocks
Millivoltmeters
Overhead cranes
Tie-down equipment
Day boxes
Torpedo levels
Warning sirens
Shock tube detonators
Digital wattmeters
Detonating cords
Laser rangefinders
Digital ohmmeters
Hydraulic pressure gauges
Temperature data loggers
Discharge hoses
Blast hole tubing
Folding knives
Portable air compressors
Wire cutting tools
Fuse cutters
Laptop computers
Bore hole thermometers
Fixed blade knives
Galvanometers
Pneumatic drilling equipment
Short-wave radios
Meggers
Hole savers
Insulated pliers
Right angle prisms
Crescent wrenches
Explosives time delay fuses
Stake flags
Portable cranes
Tongue and groove pliers
Tractor-trailer trucks
Loading poles
Safety fuses
Hacksaws
Blasting machines
Conduit bending tools
Ammonium nitrate fuel oil ANFO loaders
Surveyors leveling rods
Extension ladders
Electronic shock tube initiators
Protective respirators
Digital multimeters
Mobile radios
Wire loop pullers
Lowering hooks
Explosives funnels
Remote blasting systems
Grappling hooks
Equipment dollies
Perforating capsule guns
Plastic plugs
Explosives handling robots
Electricians' knives
Weighted tape measures
Safety harnesses
Transport trucks
Non-electric delay detonators
Hard hats
Precision tweezers
Hoisting equipment
Longnose pliers
Digital micrometers
Personal computers
Short period delay detonators
Pallet jacks
Rubber mallets

Microsoft Word
Microsoft PowerPoint
Autodesk AutoCAD
Global Positioning System GPS software
Microsoft Excel
Blaster's Tool and Supply Company Blaster's Calculator
Datavis DBS Designer
DetNet ViewShot
Microsoft Office
ESRI ArcGIS software