# 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.

- **SOC code:** 47-5032.00
- **Canonical URL:** https://singulariki.com/roles/role-47-5032-00
- **Also known as:** Blast Hole Driller, Blaster, Explosive Technician, Powderman, Unexploded Ordnance Quality Control Officer, Aircraft Ordnance Technician, Ammunition and Explosives Handler, Blast Driller
- **Frame:** "AI exposure" means task overlap (how codifiable the work is), not jobs lost or a forecast. Every figure below is traced to a named public dataset.

## What this work is

**Core tasks** (O*NET):
- 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.

**Emerging tasks** (O*NET):
- Operate drones for aerial survey of blast sites and for post-blast damage assessment.

## Skills, tools, capabilities

**Knowledge, skills & abilities** (O*NET, highest importance first):
- Public Safety and Security _(knowledge)_
- Problem Sensitivity _(ability)_
- Manual Dexterity _(ability)_
- Near Vision _(ability)_
- Law and Government _(knowledge)_
- Active Listening _(essential_skill)_
- Oral Comprehension _(ability)_
- Deductive Reasoning _(ability)_
- Inductive Reasoning _(ability)_
- Information Ordering _(ability)_
- Arm-Hand Steadiness _(ability)_
- Monitoring _(essential_skill)_

**Skills in demand:**
- Information Ordering _(Specialized Skill)_
- Inductive Reasoning _(Common Skill)_
- Deductive Reasoning _(Common Skill)_
- Active Listening _(Common Skill)_
- Finger Dexterity _(Common Skill)_
- Mathematics _(Common Skill)_
- Critical Thinking _(Common Skill)_
- Time Management _(Common Skill)_
- Depth Perception _(Common Skill)_
- Complex Problem Solving _(Common Skill)_
- Visualization _(Specialized Skill)_
- Speech Recognition _(Specialized Skill)_

**Tools & technology:**
- Autodesk AutoCAD _(hot technology)_
- ESRI ArcGIS software _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Excel _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Office software _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Outlook _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft PowerPoint _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Word _(hot technology)_
- Blaster's Tool and Supply Company Blaster's Calculator
- Datavis DBS Designer
- DetNet ViewShot
- Global positioning system GPS software

## AI exposure & outlook

- **AI task-overlap index:** 8th percentile (Low) across all occupations — composite of current-era exposure studies (ai-exposure-index-v1).
- **LLM task exposure, γ (OpenAI / Eloundou):** 19th percentile (Low) — source: eloundou_gamma.
- **AI assistant applicability (Microsoft):** 6th percentile (Low) — source: microsoft_applicability.
- **Projected employment (BLS 2024–34):** -0.9% growth (Declining); 0.5k annual openings; 5.8k → 5.8k jobs.
- **Pay & employment (BLS OEWS, May 2024):** median $59,110; 5,680 employed.

## Sources

- **O*NET** (30.3) — U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development. https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html
- **BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)** (May 2024) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/oes/
- **BLS Employment Projections** (2024–2034) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/emp/
- **Microsoft “Working with AI”** (working-with-ai) — Microsoft Research. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/
- **“GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.)** (arXiv 2303.10130) — OpenAI / academic. https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130

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_Generated from Singulariki's joined dataset; data snapshot 2026-06-02T21:00:32.945303+00:00. https://singulariki.com/roles/role-47-5032-00_