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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 “Explosive Technician”

Repair electrical instruments, using electricians' hand tools.
Insert waterproof sealers, bullets, and/or powder charges into guns, and screw gun ports back into place.
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.
Examine blast areas to determine amounts and kinds of explosive charges needed and to ensure that safety laws are observed.
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.
Drive trucks to transport explosives and blasting equipment to blasting sites.
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.
Insert powder charges into chambers of sidewall sample-taking cylinders, and assemble cylinders, using special wrenches.
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.
Observe odometers, weight indicators, and instrument panels in trucks in order to position guns at predetermined points in wells.
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.
Set up and operate short-wave radio or field telephone equipment to transmit and receive blast information.
Mark patterns, locations, and depths of charge holes for drilling, and issue drilling instructions.
Clean, gauge, and lubricate gun ports.
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.
Connect electrical wire to primers, and cover charges or fill blast holes with clay, drill chips, sand, or other material.
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.
Compile and keep gun and explosives records in compliance with local and federal laws.
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 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.
Maintain inventory levels, ordering new supplies as necessary.
Repair and service blasting, shooting, and automotive equipment, and electrical wiring and instruments, using hand tools.
Cut specified lengths of primacord and attach primers to cord ends.
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.

Related Technology & Tools

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

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