Sunday, 6 November 2016

Arthur Cordes - The Dangers of Lead-Contaminated Soil

Arthur Cordes is a Site Superintendent in the hazardous waste removal industry. He served in the United States Army for two years, and in the Marine Corps for eight years. After leaving the Marine Corps he started working in the hazardous waste removal industry and has worked on several USEPA projects in various places across the United States. Arthur Cordes is experienced in removing lead-contaminated soil and has supervised several crews in removing lead and arsenic contaminated soil from alleyways and residential driveways. Several products that contain lead have hazardous characteristics that are harmful to humans. Some of the products that contain high levels of leachable lead are waste oils, paints, fly ash, metal slag, and foundry sands. Lead contamination is dangerous, and both organic and inorganic contamination can come from industrial waste material and agricultural runoffs. If the soil is polluted, and the pollution reaches groundwater, it can result in water pollution. Lead pollution can be a hazard for people living in contaminated areas. Even walking in contaminated areas can cause the substance to be carried into the homes, and extreme care needs to be taken to prevent further contamination of the home and workplace.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), you can get lead into your body by breathing or swallowing lead dust. Lead is extremely hazardous to both adults and children, and can cause memory problems, nerve disorders, high blood pressure, muscle pain, including various other problems. Arthur Cordes is experienced in the removal of lead-contaminated soil.

Source: http://www.triumvirate.com/engineering-blog/bid/24352/The-Dangers-of-Lead-Contaminated-Soil

Wednesday, 26 October 2016

Arthur Cordes - What You Need to Know About Oil Well Plugging

Arthur Cordes served in the Marine Corps before building a successful career for himself in the hazardous waste removal industry. He was the equipment operator/foreman at the G.E. Fuqua Farm Orphaned Oil Wells. As foreman, he oversaw a seven-man crew at an abandoned well site.

Arthur Cordes has twenty years’ experience in the hazardous waste removal industry across the Midwest, South Central, and Rocky Mountain regions. He has eighteen years’ experience working in the USEPA ERRS and USACE programs as superintendent and foreman. Generally, an abandoned oil well has a surface casing that extends to below lowermost drinking water aquifer, and a set of production strings that run tot eh the target formation. The annuli between formation and casing, and between the various casing strings is cemented to an extent. Abandonment plugs have unique tailored cement types that may be supported by mechanical plugs. For a well to be effectively sealed, a stepwise procedure that addresses the removal of equipment and tools, cleaning the wellbore, and plugging and testing have to be carried out.

Arthur Cordes knows that the first step in sealing an abandoned well is removing all existing tools from the well. This is done by using a conventional workover rig or existing drilling with full capacity to pull out all downhole equipment from the well, such as downhole pumps, production tubing, and packers. If the tools cannot be successfully retrieved because of stuck equipment, then the oil well abandonment strategy has to be revised and approved by concerned authorities.

Source: https://hub.globalccsinstitute.com/publications/long-term-integrity-co2-storage-%E2%80%93-well-abandonment/2-well-plugging-and-abandonment

Tuesday, 18 October 2016

Arthur Cordes - What You Need to Know About Being a Sniper

As an ex-sniper with the United States Marine Corps, Arthur Cordes knows how important it is to be properly informed about what a sniper’s job is all about. Cordes joined the United States Army in 1983 after graduating from high school and served for two years before moving to the Marine Corps. According to the Department of Defense, the average number of rounds that were expended in Vietnam to kill just one enemy soldier with an M-16 was a whopping 50,000. With the latest sniper training in the United States Marine Corps, the average number of rounds needed by snipers in the Marine Corps to kill one enemy soldier was just 1.3 rounds.

The first United States Army Sniper School was founded in 1955, after the Korean War ceasefire. The current United States Army Sniper School is located at Fort Benning, Georgia and was started in 1987. The program at the school lasts for five weeks. The Army National Guard Sniper School at Camp Robinson, Arkansas was established in 1993. After joining the Marine Corps, Arthur Cordes trained to become a sniper.

Many people believe that to become a good sniper, you need to be a good shooter. However, that is not entirely the case. In fact, only twenty percent of the course involves shooting. It takes patience, discipline, and the ability to work alone apart from excellent marksmanship skills to become a good sniper. The sniper course also includes camouflage, concealment, and observation exercises. After leaving the Marine Corps, Arthur Cordes started working the hazardous and waste removal and emergency response industry.

Thursday, 6 October 2016

Arthur Cordes - Academic Evaluation for New Recruits – What You Need to Know

Arthur Cordes joined the United States Army after graduating from high school. He spent a total of ten years serving his country; two years with the United States Army, and eight years with the United States Marine Corps. He was a sniper with the Marine Corps and left the armed forces in 1993. Arthur Codes shares a couple of things you need to know regarding academic evaluation for new recruits.

What is the ASVAB Test
The Armed Forces Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) consists of a sequence of tests that has been developed by the Department of Defense. It is used to determine if a new recruit has the mental capacity to enlist in the United States Army. If you plan to enlist in the Army, you will need to take the ASVAB, which is valid for two years. You will have the option of taking a computerized version of the test at one of the Military Entrance Processing Stations (MEPS), or you might want to take a written test at one of the numerous Military Entrance Test (MET) sites around the country. The test will help determine which Military Occupational Specialties (MOS) you qualify for.

The following are the areas you can expect during the ASVAB test:
  • General Science – checks your understanding of life science, space and earth science, including physical science
  • Arithmetic Cognition – your ability to answer basic arithmetic problems
  • Word Knowledge – your aptitude to comprehend meaning of words through synonyms
  • Mathematical Knowledge – mathematical concepts and applications
  • Paragraph Comprehension – ability to understand information from written material
  • Electronics Information – understanding of electrical circuits, currents, electronic systems and devices
  • Mechanical Comprehension – understanding of the principles of mechanical devices
  • Auto and Shop – understanding of automotive repair and maintenance, and metal and wood shop practices
  • Assembling Objects – measures applicants’ capability with spatial relationships

Arthur Cordes recommends taking a sample ASVAB test to acquaint yourself with the kind of questions you will be required to answer.

Source: http://www.goarmy.com/learn.html