Explosives Workers, Ordnance Handling Experts, and Blasters

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 Task

• Assembles equipment, primer, explosives, and blasting cap or loads perforating gun with explosives.
• Ties specified lengths of delaying fuses into pattern to time sequence of explosions.
• Observes control panel to verify detonation of charge or listens for sound of blast.
• Moves, stores, and maintains inventories of high explosives.
• Drives truck to transport explosives and blasting equipment to blasting site.
• Places safety cones around blast area to alert other workers.
• Signals workers to clear area and hoist operator to raise equipment and sample from blast hole after detonation.
• Sets up and operates radio or telephone equipment to receive blast information.
• Operates equipment, such as hoist, jackhammer, or drill to bore charge holes.
• Sets up and operates pneumatic drilling equipment to dill blast holes.
• Marks location and depth of charge holes for drilling, and measures depth of drilled blast holes.
• Examines blast area to determine amount and kind of explosive needed and to ensure safety prior to detonation.
• Repairs and services blasting and automotive equipment and electrical instruments, using hand tools.
• Fills and tamps blasting hole.
• Lays primacord between rows of charged blast holes and ties cord into main line to form blast pattern.
• Loads specified amount of explosives into blast holes, manually, or using rope or hoist.
• Lights fuse, drops detonating device into well, or connects wires to firing device and activates device to set off blast.
• Cuts specified lengths or primacord and attaches primer to end of cord.
• Plants explosive charge in structures or outside, using rope and safety harness for climbing.

Looking for a job in Explosives Workers, Ordnance Handling Experts, and Blasters? Check out these great job search websites. Thousands of job opportunities and reseach for a new career! Includes job search websites from Australia and internationally