Certified Safety Professional Exam Environmental Safety and Regulatory Compliance 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What does an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) evaluate?
- Worker compensation costs from environmental exposures
- The potential positive and negative environmental effects of a proposed project before it proceeds (Correct answer)
- Annual pollutant discharge levels from existing facilities
- Carbon footprint of raw material supply chains
Correct answer: The potential positive and negative environmental effects of a proposed project before it proceeds
An EIA systematically identifies and evaluates the likely environmental consequences of a proposed project to inform decision-making before approval.
Question 2: Which air quality standard category under the Clean Air Act specifically protects human health with an adequate margin of safety?
- Secondary National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS)
- Primary NAAQS (Correct answer)
- State Implementation Plan (SIP) standards
- Technology-based emission standards
Correct answer: Primary NAAQS
Primary NAAQS are set to protect public health including sensitive populations; secondary NAAQS protect public welfare (visibility, crops, buildings).
Question 3: What is the primary mechanism of the Clean Water Act (CWA) for controlling industrial discharges to surface waters?
- Voluntary best management practices
- National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits (Correct answer)
- State watershed management plans
- EPA administrative consent orders
Correct answer: National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits
NPDES permits set technology-based and water quality-based effluent limits that facilities must meet when discharging pollutants to navigable waters.
Question 4: In environmental compliance, what is a 'de minimis' discharge?
- A catastrophic spill requiring immediate Superfund response
- A small release so minor it is exempt from regulatory reporting thresholds (Correct answer)
- A permitted discharge at the maximum allowable level
- A discharge requiring secondary containment
Correct answer: A small release so minor it is exempt from regulatory reporting thresholds
De minimis discharges are so small they are considered negligible and are exempt from reporting requirements under certain environmental regulations.
Question 5: What is the role of a Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP) under the Clean Water Act?
- To set indoor air quality standards during storm events
- To identify potential pollutant sources and describe controls to prevent stormwater contamination at industrial sites (Correct answer)
- To document chemical storage in floodplain areas
- To require zero-discharge of stormwater from all facilities
Correct answer: To identify potential pollutant sources and describe controls to prevent stormwater contamination at industrial sites
A SWPPP documents site-specific best management practices to prevent pollutants from being carried into waterways via stormwater runoff from industrial facilities.
Question 6: Under OSHA's Process Safety Management (PSM) standard (29 CFR 1910.119), what triggers PSM requirements at a facility?
- Any use of hazardous chemicals in production
- Presence of highly hazardous chemicals above specified threshold quantities (Correct answer)
- Annual revenue above $1 million from chemical processes
- Employing more than 50 workers in chemical operations
Correct answer: Presence of highly hazardous chemicals above specified threshold quantities
PSM requirements are triggered when a process involves a listed highly hazardous chemical at or above its threshold quantity, as defined in Appendix A of the standard.
Certified Safety Professional Exam Environmental Safety and Regulatory Compliance 2
What does an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) evaluate?