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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”

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

Related Technology & Tools

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

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