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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”

Measure depths of drilled blast holes, using weighted tape measures.
Connect gun chambers to electric detonating devices, and operate controls at panelboards, in order to detonate charges in guns or to ignite chemical charges.
Drive trucks to transport explosives and blasting equipment to blasting sites.
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.
Insert waterproof sealers, bullets, and/or powder charges into guns, and screw gun ports back into place.
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.
Verify detonation of charges by observing control panels, or by listening for the sounds of blasts.
Cut specified lengths of primacord and attach primers to cord ends.
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 powder charges into chambers of sidewall sample-taking cylinders, and assemble cylinders, using special wrenches.
Examine blast areas to determine amounts and kinds of explosive charges needed and to ensure that safety laws are observed.
Lower perforating guns into wells, using hoists; then use measuring devices and instrument panels to position guns in correct positions for taking samples.
Repair electrical instruments, using electricians' hand tools.
Tie specified lengths of delaying fuses into patterns in order to time sequences of explosions.
Assemble and position equipment, explosives, and blasting caps in holes at specified depths, or load perforating guns or torpedoes with explosives.
Set up and operate equipment such as hoists, jackhammers, or drills, in order to bore charge holes.
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.
Clean, gauge, and lubricate gun ports.
Obtain samples of earth from sidewalls of well boreholes, using electrically exploding devices.
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.
Signal hoist operators to lower torpedoes or sample-taking guns into wells and to raise equipment for sampling from blast holes after detonation.
Move and store inventories of explosives, loaded perforating guns, and other materials, according to established safety procedures.
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.
Lay primacord between rows of charged blast holes, and tie cord into main lines to form blast patterns.
Observe odometers, weight indicators, and instrument panels in trucks in order to position guns at predetermined points in wells.

Related Technology & Tools

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

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