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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 “Explosive Expert”

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.
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.
Assemble and position equipment, explosives, and blasting caps in holes at specified depths, or load perforating guns or torpedoes with explosives.
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.
Repair electrical instruments, using electricians' hand tools.
Lower perforating guns into wells, using hoists; then use measuring devices and instrument panels to position guns in correct positions for taking samples.
Set up and operate short-wave radio or field telephone equipment to transmit and receive blast information.
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.
Verify detonation of charges by observing control panels, or by listening for the sounds of blasts.
Repair and service blasting, shooting, and automotive equipment, and electrical wiring and instruments, using hand tools.
Tie specified lengths of delaying fuses into patterns in order to time sequences of explosions.
Signal hoist operators to lower torpedoes or sample-taking guns into wells and to raise equipment for sampling from blast holes after detonation.
Insert powder charges into chambers of sidewall sample-taking cylinders, and assemble cylinders, using special wrenches.
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.
Observe odometers, weight indicators, and instrument panels in trucks in order to position guns at predetermined points in wells.
Mark patterns, locations, and depths of charge holes for drilling, and issue drilling instructions.
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.
Insert waterproof sealers, bullets, and/or powder charges into guns, and screw gun ports back into place.
Cut specified lengths of primacord and attach primers to cord ends.
Clean, gauge, and lubricate gun ports.
Maintain inventory levels, ordering new supplies as necessary.
Obtain samples of earth from sidewalls of well boreholes, using electrically exploding devices.
Compile and keep gun and explosives records in compliance with local and federal laws.
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.
Connect electrical wire to primers, and cover charges or fill blast holes with clay, drill chips, sand, or other material.

Related Technology & Tools

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

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