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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 “Shotblaster”

Maintain inventory levels, ordering new supplies as necessary.
Compile and keep gun and explosives records in compliance with local and federal laws.
Set up and operate short-wave radio or field telephone equipment to transmit and receive blast information.
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.
Move and store inventories of explosives, loaded perforating guns, and other materials, according to established safety procedures.
Cut specified lengths of primacord and attach primers to cord ends.
Set up and operate equipment such as hoists, jackhammers, or drills, in order to bore charge holes.
Connect electrical wire to primers, and cover charges or fill blast holes with clay, drill chips, sand, or other material.
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 powder charges into chambers of sidewall sample-taking cylinders, and assemble cylinders, using special wrenches.
Lower perforating guns into wells, using hoists; then use measuring devices and instrument panels to position guns in correct positions for taking samples.
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 waterproof sealers, bullets, and/or powder charges into guns, and screw gun ports back into place.
Clean, gauge, and lubricate gun ports.
Obtain samples of earth from sidewalls of well boreholes, using electrically exploding devices.
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.
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.
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.
Connect gun chambers to electric detonating devices, and operate controls at panelboards, in order to detonate charges in guns or to ignite chemical charges.
Measure depths of drilled blast holes, using weighted tape measures.
Examine blast areas to determine amounts and kinds of explosive charges needed and to ensure that safety laws are observed.
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.
Tie specified lengths of delaying fuses into patterns in order to time sequences of explosions.
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.

Related Technology & Tools

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

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