CIH Exam Prep

Free Webinar: Improving the Quality of Industrial Hygiene Air Sampling Data Through Proper Field Practices

 in Safety & Health  tagged CIH Exam Prep / General IH / QA QC / Safety / Sampling / Webinar

TestAmerica is hosting a free webinar on “Improving the Quality of Industrial Hygiene Air Sampling Data Through Proper Field Practices” on September 20.  The webinar will be presented by Mike McGee, CIH and will provide a basic overview on improving the quality of IH data and avoiding common pitfalls.

Variability in sampling data can result from: the skill level and attention of the person performing the sampling, equipment and sampling media, variability of air sampling flow/sampling rate, recording sampling time accurately, environmental factors, documentation, the representativeness of the samples collected, variation in contaminant concentration during sampling, and transportation of samples from the field to the laboratory.

Topics will include:

  • Sources of field variability
  • Why air volume is only half of the equation
  • What you should know about air sampling pump calibration
  • Field data collection accuracy and adjustments
  • Field data documentation
  • Pitfalls to avoid

Register for the webinar HERE.

Source: TestAmerica

Free Online Safety and Training Courses

 in Safety & Health  tagged CIH / CIH Exam Prep / CSP / CSP Exam Prep / Ergonomics / Fall Protection / HAZCOM / LOTO / Noise / PSM / Safety / Training

The state of Washington is offering some invaluable online safety and training courses on their website.  Topics include:

  • Accident Investigation
  • Safety Checklists
  • HAZCOM
  • Ergonomics
  • Fall Protection
  • Janitorial Services
  • Job Safety / Hazard Analyses
  • Lockout / Tagout
  • Noise
  • Process Safety Management (PSM)
  • and much more

You can find the courses and modules on the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries website.

Confessions of a Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH) Examinee

 in Safety & Health  tagged Ask the Expert / CIH / CIH Exam Prep / Safety

OHShub.com interviews recent successful examinees of the Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH) exam administered by the American Board of Industrial Hygiene (ABIH).  The resultant text is as follows:


OHShub.com:  When did you decide to take the CIH exam?

Examinee:  I decided in 2003 to make it a goal of mine to obtain the CIH certification.

OHShub.com:  When did you obtain certification?

Examinee:  I actually obtained certification in May 2010.

OHShub.com:  What is your current career field and how do you feel it prepared you?

Examinee:  Currently I am in the consulting field.  I feel that it (i.e. being a consultant) prepared me by having the ability to complete a multitude of traditional IH projects.  The great thing about being a consultant is that there is always something new and fresh in meeting the needs of the client, which exposes you to a variety of the traditional “IH rubrics”.

OHShub.com:  How long had you been in the IH/Safety career field when you sat for the CIH exam?

Examinee:  Less than 10 years.  I believe it was actually 9 years.  While you can take the test after 5 years, I have always personally regarded the CIH designation highly.  I felt that it was important and wanted to have a certain “skillset” prior to sitting for the exam.

OHShub.com:  Are you saying that you did not just want to have a “certification” but wanted to be able to exemplify the characteristics of most CIH’s in the field?

Examinee:  Exactly.  That is precisely my thoughts and feelings.

OHShub.com:  What was/is your work/career-life like?

Examinee:  I consider myself very fortunate to have a very well qualified mentor (who is a CIH) and excellent IH support staff around me.  Personally, I feel that it would have been much more difficult to obtain such a high level IH skillset without those continuing resources.

OHShub.com:  Personally, how many hours do you think you studied in preparation for the CIH exam?

Examinee:  Great question.  But one that I thought about many times after many months of studying.  I’d imagine that I studied somewhere in the range of 700-800 hours in all.  Granted, this was over a few years.  However, over the final year leading up to the exam, the final breakdown was probably somewhere in the range of:

  • > 12 months out = 120 hours
  • 12 – 6 months out = 200 hours
  • 6  – 3 months out = 200 hours
  • 3 – 1 months out = 120 hours
  • < 1 month out = 60-90 hours

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Statistical Analyses for Occupational Exposure Results

 in Safety & Health  tagged CIH Exam Prep / CSP Exam Prep / Safety / Statistics

NIOSH released a guide, Occupational Exposure Sampling Strategy Manual (1977), that describes statistical analyses for occupational exposure results in a clear and concise manner. Included are discussions and examples on:

  • Confidence Limits (CL’s)
  • CL’s and Compliance / Non-compliance Classifications
  • Statistics and Classifications for: full period sampling, partial period sampling, consecutive sampling, grab sampling, comparison to ceiling standards, and more.

If you are looking for a (free) guide that details “real world” occupational exposure statistical analyses, download NIOSH’s guide HERE ().

Calculator: Minimum Sample Volume & Required Sampling Time

 in Safety & Health  tagged Calculations / CIH Exam Prep / Safety / Sampling

Want to determine the Minimum Sample Volume needed to ensure you collect enough of a sample volume so that the results are capable of being less than the Exposure Limit? Want to know how long you need to sample at a given flow rate?

If so, use OHShub.com’s Minimum Sample Volume and Required Sampling Time calculator and take the guess-work out of the equation.

Input the:

  • Laboratory Limit of Quantitation (LOQ)
  • Exposure Limit
  • Desired Fraction of the Exposure Limit (essentially a safety factor for sampling)
  • Sampling Rate

And the results will give you the Minimum Sample Volume and Required Sampling Time.

Note:  Ensure that you have the right units and all of the units are consistent.  Units such as parts per million (ppm) for Exposure Limits may need to be converted to mg/m3.

Download the Calculator HERE:

  Calculator: Minimum Sample Volume and Required Sampling Time (35.0 KiB, 3,853 hits)

OHShub.com’s CIH Exam Prep Questions to Continue in June ’10

 in Safety & Health  tagged CIH / CIH Exam Prep / Safety

OHShub.com will be taking a short leave from posting examination preparation questions for the Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH) exam.  Questions will resume in June 2010 after the Spring American Board of Industrial Hygiene (ABIH) exam window has closed.

In the meantime, be sure to check out the over 250 questions that OHShub.com currently offers to use in your study efforts.    Additionally, be sure to stay tuned to OHShub.com as some new and exciting examination preparation materials will soon be available.

NTP (Normal Temperature & Pressure) Definitions

 in Safety & Health  tagged Calculations / CIH / CIH Exam Prep / General IH / Safety / Temperature

A few questions have arisen regarding the term NTP (Normal Temperature and Pressure).  The following table helps to sort any potential confusion.

Agency Pressure Temperature
Traditional

(Chemistry/Physics)

 29.92 “Hg

760 mm Hg

 492 ˚R

273 ˚K
ACGIH

(TLV)

 29.92 “Hg

760 mm Hg

 530 ˚R

298 ˚K
NIOSH/AIHA

(Traditional)

 29.92 “Hg

760 mm Hg

 537 ˚R

298 ˚K
ASHRAE

(Ventilation)

 29.92 “Hg

760 mm Hg

 528 ˚R

293 ˚K

Source: Useful Equations, Practical Applications of OH&S Match: D. Jeff Burton, PE, CIH

CIH Exam Prep Questions – February 2010, Part I

 in Safety & Health  tagged CIH / CIH Exam Prep / Safety

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The latest CIH exam prep questions have been posted to OHShub.com. You can find these 25 questions covering a wide range of IH topics HERE.

We told you to sharpen those math skills, this entry in the OHShub.com bi-monthly CIH Exam Preparation Questions is all math. Sharpen those pencils, bring out the calculator, grab a cup of coffee and get going!

Please note: OHShub.com has made the questions and solutions much easier to read. Check out our improvements!

Please leave your results in the poll in the left sidebar. Thanks & Good Luck!!!

CIH Exam Prep Questions – January 2010, Part II

 in Safety & Health  tagged CIH / CIH Exam Prep / Safety

cih_exam_prep_questions_png

The latest CIH exam prep questions have been posted to OHShub.com. You can find these 36 questions covering a wide range of IH topics HERE.

This entry is math free!  Better sharpen those math skills for February!

Please note: OHShub.com has made the questions and solutions much easier to read. Check out our improvements!

Please leave your results in the poll in the left sidebar. Thanks & Good Luck!!!

EBook Download: Fundamentals of Occupational Safety and Health

 in Safety & Health  tagged CIH Exam Prep / CSP Exam Prep / Reference / Safety

fundamentals_of_occupational_safety_and_healthNIOSH’s Twitter feed (@NIOSH) recently “tweeted” about the availability of an ebook entitled, Fundamentals of Occupational Safety and Health, written by Mark Friend and James Kohn (2007).

Some of the chapters in the book include such topics as:

  • Workers’ compensation and recordkeeping
  • Accident investigation
  • Intro to Industrial Hygiene
  • Ergonomics
  • System Safety
  • Hazardous Materials,
  • Multiemployer worksite doctrine
  • Required written programs
  • etc.

(Continue reading past the break for a download link to the book)

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