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“Explosives Handler” will probably not be replaced by robots.

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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 Handler”

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

Related Technology & Tools

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

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