Testing center helps students finish GED

January 14, 2013
LA GRANDE, Ore. (EOU) ? Students earning high school credentials have a new deadline to be aware of, and EOU’s testing center is poised to help them meet it.

GED test-takers have until December 2013 to complete the current exam. Once the deadline arrives, the test – and scores – will expire, which means those who haven’t finished must start over when the new GED exam is released Jan. 2, 2014.

“We’re ready to help as many individuals as possible complete their GED before the current test expires,” said Cathy Trochlell, continuing education coordinator at EOU.

Trochlell works closely with EOU’s testing center, which offers regular access for students completing the computer-based GED. Anyone who started with the paper-based test can complete it at Blue Mountain Community College.

In addition to connecting students with the appropriate testing location, Trochlell also recommends preparation resources, conducting tutorials on how to navigate the computer-based system, and often making referrals to the Online GED Academy offered through BMCC.

“If you’ve been thinking about getting your GED, now is the time to call me,” Trochlell said. “The new test will be more difficult and likely more expensive, so I want to help as many students as possible attain their credentials this calendar year.”

Financial assistance is available for Union County residents seeking GED completion through EOU’s testing center. Two local donations have provided testing scholarships for 15 students in need. The Oregon Employers Council of Union County funded 10 individual scholarships, and Soroptomist International of La Grande donated funds for five scholarships.

There is also limited funding to provide scholarships for students who want to participate in the BMCC GED Online Academy. These scholarships are funded by the Carole L. Smutz GED Scholarship fund. 

For more information contact Trochlell at 541-962-3076 or visit www.eou.edu/conted.

View the original article here

Read More

Workplace Field Testing of the Pressure Drop of Particulate Respirators Using Welding Fumes

Skip Navigation

Hyun-Woo Cho and Chung-Sik Yoon*

Institute of Health and Environment, Department of Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Seoul National University, 1 Gwanak-ro, Gwanak-gu, Seoul 151-742, South Korea ?* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed. Tel: +82-2-880-2734; Fax: +82-2-745-9104; e-mail: csyoon{at}snu.ac.kr Received August 3, 2011. Accepted February 25, 2012. In a previous study, we concluded that respirator testing with a sodium chloride aerosol gave a conservative estimate of filter penetration for welding fume aerosols. A rapid increase in the pressure drop (PD) of some respirators was observed as fumes accumulated on the filters. The present study evaluated particulate respirator PD based on workplace field tests. A field PD tester was designed and validated using the TSI 8130 Automatic Filter Tester, designed in compliance with National Institute for Occupational and Safety and Health regulation 42 CFR part 84. Three models (two replaceable dual-type filters and one replaceable single-type filter) were evaluated against CO2 gas arc welding on mild steel in confined booths in the workplace. Field tests were performed under four airborne concentrations (27.5, 15.4, 7.9, and 2.1 mg m-3). The mass concentration was measured by the gravimetric method, and number concentration was monitored using P-Trak (Model 8525, TSI, USA). Additionally, photos and scanning electron microscopy–energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy were used to visualize and analyze the composition of welding fumes trapped in the filters. The field PD tester showed no significant difference compared with the TSI tester. There was no significant difference in the initial PD between laboratory and field results. The PD increased as a function of fume load on the respirator filters for all tested models. The increasing PD trend differed by models, and PD increased rapidly at high concentrations because greater amount of fumes accumulated on the filters in a given time. The increase in PD as a function of fume load on the filters showed a similar pattern as fume load varied for a particular model, but different patterns were observed for different models. Images and elemental analyses of fumes trapped on the respirator filters showed that most welding fumes were trapped within the first layer, outer web cover, and second layer, in order, while no fumes were observed beneath the fourth layer of the tested respirators. The current findings contribute substantially to our understanding of respirator PD in the presence of welding fumes.

© The Author 2012. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Occupational Hygiene Society [2012]This ArticleAnn Occup Hyg (2012) 56 (8): 948-958. doi: 10.1093/annhyg/mes015 First published online: April 26, 2012 Current Issue

Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.

View the original article here

Read More