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Employment Percentage
-88.48484848
SOC ID
47-5097
SOC Title
Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas; and Explosives Workers, Ordnance Handling Experts, and Blasters
ONET ID
47-5032.00
ONET Concat ID
47503200
Median Salary
64207.82
Ed Level High School
66.669998
Ed Level Certificate
20.83
Ed Level Some College
8.33
Ed Level Associates
4.17
Ed Level Bachelors
0
Ed Level Masters
0
Ed Level Doctors
0
Typical Ed Level
a high school diploma or less
Career 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.
Core Tasks
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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, 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.
  • Mark patterns, locations, and depths of charge holes for drilling, and issue drilling instructions.
  • Compile and keep gun and explosives records in compliance with local and federal laws.
  • Measure depths of drilled blast holes, using weighted tape measures.
  • Connect electrical wire to primers, and cover charges or fill blast holes with clay, drill chips, sand, or other material.
  • Lay primacord between rows of charged blast holes, and tie cord into main lines to form blast patterns.
  • Assemble and position equipment, explosives, and blasting caps in holes at specified depths, or load perforating guns or torpedoes with explosives.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Drive trucks to transport explosives and blasting equipment to blasting sites.
  • Cut specified lengths of primacord and attach primers to cord ends.
  • Maintain inventory levels, ordering new supplies as necessary.
  • Repair and service blasting, shooting, and automotive equipment, and electrical wiring and instruments, using hand tools.
Start Annual Earnings
36068.34
Top Annual Earnings
112533.88
EMSI Career Title Slug
explosives-worker-ordnance-handling-expert-or-blaster