ASP - Associate Safety Professional Environmental Management Questions and Answers

Question 1

A facility maintains an aggregate aboveground oil storage capacity of 1,500 gallons in various 55-gallon drums and one 400-gallon tank. The facility is located where a potential spill could reasonably be expected to discharge into a nearby creek. Under EPA regulations, what is this facility required to develop and implement?

Accepted Answer

A Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure (SPCC) Plan

Answer

The EPA's SPCC rule (40 CFR Part 112) applies to facilities with an aggregate aboveground oil storage capacity greater than 1,320 U.S. gallons that could reasonably be expected to discharge oil into navigable waters. Since the facility's capacity is 1,500 gallons, it exceeds the threshold and must have an SPCC Plan.

Question 2

A safety professional is reviewing a waste stream from a manufacturing process. The waste is an aqueous solution with a pH of 1.5. According to the EPA's Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), this waste would be classified as hazardous due to which characteristic?

Accepted Answer

Corrosivity

Answer

Under RCRA, a waste exhibits the characteristic of corrosivity if it is aqueous and has a pH less than or equal to 2 or greater than or equal to 12.5. A pH of 1.5 falls into this category, making the waste a D002 hazardous waste.

Question 3

The ISO 14001 standard for Environmental Management Systems (EMS) is based on a continuous improvement model. During which phase of the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle would an organization conduct internal audits and monitor key environmental performance indicators?

Accepted Answer

Check

Answer

The 'Check' phase of the PDCA cycle involves monitoring and measuring processes and performance against the environmental policy, objectives, and legal requirements, and reporting the results. This includes activities like internal audits and tracking performance indicators.

Question 4

A construction company is preparing a site that will disturb more than one acre of land. To comply with the Clean Water Act's National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit requirements, what must the company develop and implement?

Accepted Answer

A Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP)

Answer

The NPDES Construction General Permit requires construction sites that disturb one or more acres of land to develop and implement a Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP). The primary goal of a SWPPP is to identify potential sources of pollution and implement best management practices (BMPs) to prevent pollutants from being carried into stormwater runoff.

Question 5

Under the Clean Air Act, which of the following would classify a facility as a "major source" of hazardous air pollutants (HAPs)?

Accepted Answer

Potential to emit 12 tons per year of a single HAP or 28 tons per year of a combination of HAPs.

Answer

A facility is defined as a major source under the Clean Air Act if it has the potential to emit 10 tons per year or more of any single hazardous air pollutant (HAP) or 25 tons per year or more of any combination of HAPs. The values of 12 tons (single) and 28 tons (combination) both exceed these thresholds.

(ASP) Associate Safety Professional Practice Test

(ASP) Associate Safety Professional Practice Test

ASP - Associate Safety Professional Environmental Management Questions and Answers