Job Description:

• 1) Tends equipment that controls moisture content of stored explosive mixtures and their ingredients, used in detonators, primers, and fuses for shells, cartridges, and bombs according to prescribed standards: Scoops chemicals from rubber containers into paper- or cloth-lined trays.

• 2) Places trays on racks in steam-heated drying or humidified rooms for specified time to dehydrate or moisten chemicals.

• 3) Observes recording instruments and turns valves to maintain temperature and humidity of rooms within prescribed safety limits.

• 4) Records storage time to identify material of specified moisture content for further processing.

• 5) Turns valves to drain explosive material from mixing-room waste collection tank into vat in which it is cooked to render it harmless for disposal.

• 6) Shovels designated quantity of caustic soda and aluminum chips into vat and closes loading hatch.

• 7) Turns valves to admit steam into heating coils and sets automatic timer for prescribed cooking period.

• 8) Drains vat of cooked material and flushes out sediment.

• 9) Cleans utensils, floors, and walls, using water hose, to remove accumulations of explosive material in accordance with safety regulations.

• 10) May screen and blend materials, such as powder, shellac, and ground glass.