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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”

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.
Set up and operate short-wave radio or field telephone equipment to transmit and receive blast information.
Signal hoist operators to lower torpedoes or sample-taking guns into wells and to raise equipment for sampling from blast holes after detonation.
Move and store inventories of explosives, loaded perforating guns, and other materials, according to established safety procedures.
Maintain inventory levels, ordering new supplies as necessary.
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.
Examine blast areas to determine amounts and kinds of explosive charges needed and to ensure that safety laws are observed.
Clean, gauge, and lubricate gun ports.
Insert waterproof sealers, bullets, and/or powder charges into guns, and screw gun ports back into place.
Connect gun chambers to electric detonating devices, and operate controls at panelboards, in order to detonate charges in guns or to ignite chemical charges.
Tie specified lengths of delaying fuses into patterns in order to time sequences of explosions.
Repair and service blasting, shooting, and automotive equipment, and electrical wiring and instruments, using hand tools.
Mark patterns, locations, and depths of charge holes for drilling, and issue drilling instructions.
Obtain samples of earth from sidewalls of well boreholes, using electrically exploding devices.
Insert powder charges into chambers of sidewall sample-taking cylinders, and assemble cylinders, using special wrenches.
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.
Assemble and position equipment, explosives, and blasting caps in holes at specified depths, or load perforating guns or torpedoes with explosives.
Compile and keep gun and explosives records in compliance with local and federal laws.
Repair electrical instruments, using electricians' hand tools.
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.
Connect electrical wire to primers, and cover charges or fill blast holes with clay, drill chips, sand, or other material.
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 equipment such as hoists, jackhammers, or drills, in order to bore charge holes.
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.
Observe odometers, weight indicators, and instrument panels in trucks in order to position guns at predetermined points in wells.
Verify detonation of charges by observing control panels, or by listening for the sounds of blasts.
Drive trucks to transport explosives and blasting equipment to blasting sites.
Cut specified lengths of primacord and attach primers to cord ends.

Related Technology & Tools

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

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