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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 Worker”

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

Related Technology & Tools

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

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