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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 Technician”

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.
Insert waterproof sealers, bullets, and/or powder charges into guns, and screw gun ports back into place.
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.
Set up and operate equipment such as hoists, jackhammers, or drills, in order to bore charge holes.
Assemble and position equipment, explosives, and blasting caps in holes at specified depths, or load perforating guns or torpedoes with explosives.
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.
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.
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.
Observe odometers, weight indicators, and instrument panels in trucks in order to position guns at predetermined points in wells.
Lower perforating guns into wells, using hoists; then use measuring devices and instrument panels to position guns in correct positions for taking samples.
Drive trucks to transport explosives and blasting equipment to blasting sites.
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.
Cut specified lengths of primacord and attach primers to cord ends.
Examine blast areas to determine amounts and kinds of explosive charges needed and to ensure that safety laws are observed.
Measure depths of drilled blast holes, using weighted tape measures.
Move and store inventories of explosives, loaded perforating guns, and other materials, according to established safety procedures.
Connect electrical wire to primers, and cover charges or fill blast holes with clay, drill chips, sand, or other material.
Mark patterns, locations, and depths of charge holes for drilling, and issue drilling instructions.
Maintain inventory levels, ordering new supplies as necessary.
Tie specified lengths of delaying fuses into patterns in order to time sequences of explosions.
Lay primacord between rows of charged blast holes, and tie cord into main lines to form blast patterns.
Verify detonation of charges by observing control panels, or by listening for the sounds of blasts.

Related Technology & Tools

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

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