A professional who tends equipment units or semiautomatic system that processes chemical substances into industrial or consumer products, such as detergents, emulsifiers, salts, bleaching agents, acids, and synthetic resins. Respnsibilities include:

• Dumps specified amounts of solid materials into heating vessels or blending tanks; and turns valves to feed liquid and gaseous materials through equipment units, or sets controls in specified sequence on control panel to start automatic feed.
• Turns valves or moves controls to maintain system at specified temperature, pressure, and vacuum levels.
• Observes chemical reactions; monitors gauges, signals, and recorders; and receives notification from control laboratory, supervisor, or other workers to make specified operating adjustments.
• Draws samples of products for laboratory analysis.
• Maintains log of gauge readings and shift production.
• May perform chemical tests on product to ensure conformance with specifications, using standard test equipment, materials, and procedure.
• May be designated according to substance processed as low-chloride soda operator; salt-plant operator; sodium-methylate operator; equipment tended as styrene-dehydration-reactor operator; tower operator ii; or reaction produced as emulsification operator; precipitation equipment tender.