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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 “Blaster”

Observe odometers, weight indicators, and instrument panels in trucks in order to position guns at predetermined points in wells.
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.
Examine blast areas to determine amounts and kinds of explosive charges needed and to ensure that safety laws are observed.
Tie specified lengths of delaying fuses into patterns in order to time sequences of explosions.
Maintain inventory levels, ordering new supplies as necessary.
Drive trucks to transport explosives and blasting equipment to blasting sites.
Connect electrical wire to primers, and cover charges or fill blast holes with clay, drill chips, sand, or other material.
Measure depths of drilled blast holes, using weighted tape measures.
Insert waterproof sealers, bullets, and/or powder charges into guns, and screw gun ports back into place.
Obtain samples of earth from sidewalls of well boreholes, using electrically exploding devices.
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.
Connect gun chambers to electric detonating devices, and operate controls at panelboards, in order to detonate charges in guns or to ignite chemical charges.
Set up and operate equipment such as hoists, jackhammers, or drills, in order to bore charge holes.
Verify detonation of charges by observing control panels, or by listening for the sounds of blasts.
Move and store inventories of explosives, loaded perforating guns, and other materials, according to established safety procedures.
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.
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.
Set up and operate short-wave radio or field telephone equipment to transmit and receive blast information.
Assemble and position equipment, explosives, and blasting caps in holes at specified depths, or load perforating guns or torpedoes with explosives.
Compile and keep gun and explosives records in compliance with local and federal laws.
Repair and service blasting, shooting, and automotive equipment, and electrical wiring and instruments, using hand tools.
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.
Clean, gauge, and lubricate gun ports.
Lay primacord between rows of charged blast holes, and tie cord into main lines to form blast patterns.
Repair electrical instruments, using electricians' hand tools.

Related Technology & Tools

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

Global Positioning System GPS software
Microsoft Word
DetNet ViewShot
Microsoft PowerPoint
Microsoft Excel
Microsoft Office
Datavis DBS Designer
ESRI ArcGIS software
Autodesk AutoCAD
Blaster's Tool and Supply Company Blaster's Calculator