A professional who controls equipment to combine and process acids and specified chemical ingredients to produce explosives, such as nitroglycerin, tetryl, or TNT. Respnsibilities include:

• Admits specified ingredients, such as mixed acids and toluene compounds, to metering or weighing tanks, and regulates feed to nitrator in specified timing and sequence.
• Starts agitator to mix ingredients for prescribed time or until settling occurs.
• Observes temperature and pressure gauges and turns steam and coolant valves to regulate reaction within specified limits to prevent explosion.
• Transfers batch or specified components to storage tanks or other processing equipment after prescribed time or when visual inspection indicates reaction is completed.
• Records gauge readings, nitration time, and ingredients consumed in shift log.
• May be designated according to explosive produced as batch nitroglycerin-nitrator operator; tetryl-nitrator operator; or according to intermediate materials nitrated as binitrotoluene operator; mononitrotoluene operator.
• May control continuous-process equipment and be designated biazzi-nitrator operator.