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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 Ordnance Handler”

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

Related Technology & Tools

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

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