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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 “Explosives Detonator”

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

Related Technology & Tools

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

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