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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 “Powderman”

Set up and operate equipment such as hoists, jackhammers, or drills, in order to bore charge holes.
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.
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.
Tie specified lengths of delaying fuses into patterns in order to time sequences of explosions.
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.
Connect gun chambers to electric detonating devices, and operate controls at panelboards, in order to detonate charges in guns or to ignite chemical charges.
Insert powder charges into chambers of sidewall sample-taking cylinders, and assemble cylinders, using special wrenches.
Compile and keep gun and explosives records in compliance with local and federal laws.
Insert waterproof sealers, bullets, and/or powder charges into guns, and screw gun ports back into place.
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.
Observe odometers, weight indicators, and instrument panels in trucks in order to position guns at predetermined points in wells.
Signal hoist operators to lower torpedoes or sample-taking guns into wells and to raise equipment for sampling from blast holes after detonation.
Verify detonation of charges by observing control panels, or by listening for the sounds of blasts.
Lower perforating guns into wells, using hoists; then use measuring devices and instrument panels to position guns in correct positions for taking samples.
Assemble and position equipment, explosives, and blasting caps in holes at specified depths, or load perforating guns or torpedoes with explosives.
Lay primacord between rows of charged blast holes, and tie cord into main lines to form blast patterns.
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.
Maintain inventory levels, ordering new supplies as necessary.
Set up and operate short-wave radio or field telephone equipment to transmit and receive blast information.
Drive trucks to transport explosives and blasting equipment to blasting sites.
Examine blast areas to determine amounts and kinds of explosive charges needed and to ensure that safety laws are observed.
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.
Mark patterns, locations, and depths of charge holes for drilling, and issue drilling instructions.
Cut specified lengths of primacord and attach primers to cord ends.
Clean, gauge, and lubricate gun ports.
Repair electrical instruments, using electricians' hand tools.

Related Technology & Tools

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

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