CFESA Industry Standards and Regulations 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under ASHRAE Standard 15, what is the maximum allowable refrigerant concentration limit (RCL) used to determine if a machinery room is required?
- The threshold at which refrigerant becomes flammable
- The concentration at which refrigerant vapor becomes toxic to humans
- The refrigerant concentration that would occur if the entire system charge were released into the occupied space (Correct answer)
- The maximum charge allowed per ton of cooling capacity
Correct answer: The refrigerant concentration that would occur if the entire system charge were released into the occupied space
The RCL is calculated by dividing the total system refrigerant charge by the volume of the smallest occupied space to determine if that concentration exceeds safety thresholds.
Question 2: Which federal agency enforces the Clean Air Act Section 608 regulations governing refrigerant handling by commercial food equipment technicians?
- OSHA
- EPA (Correct answer)
- FDA
- DOE
Correct answer: EPA
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) enforces Section 608 of the Clean Air Act, which regulates refrigerant recovery, recycling, and reclamation.
Question 3: A food establishment is cited for having a reach-in cooler that does not maintain proper temperature. Which regulatory body most likely issued the citation?
- CFESA
- NSF International
- Local health department (Correct answer)
- ASHRAE
Correct answer: Local health department
Local or state health departments conduct inspections of food service establishments and cite violations of food safety codes including temperature requirements.
Question 4: What does the UL listing mark on commercial food equipment indicate?
- The equipment meets minimum energy efficiency standards set by the DOE
- The equipment has been tested and certified to meet specific safety standards by Underwriters Laboratories (Correct answer)
- The equipment is approved for use in USDA-inspected facilities
- The equipment complies with NSF sanitation standards
Correct answer: The equipment has been tested and certified to meet specific safety standards by Underwriters Laboratories
The UL listing mark indicates that Underwriters Laboratories has tested the product and determined it meets established safety requirements.
Question 5: Per OSHA 29 CFR 1910.147 (Lockout/Tagout), when must a service technician apply a personal lockout device to commercial food equipment?
- Only when working on electrical components above 480 volts
- Whenever unexpected energization or release of stored energy could cause injury during servicing (Correct answer)
- Only when the equipment owner requests it in writing
- When servicing equipment with more than one energy source
Correct answer: Whenever unexpected energization or release of stored energy could cause injury during servicing
LOTO is required any time servicing or maintenance could expose a worker to unexpected energization, startup, or release of stored energy regardless of voltage level.
Question 6: Which NSF standard specifically governs the design and construction of commercial warewashing equipment?
- NSF/ANSI 2
- NSF/ANSI 3 (Correct answer)
- NSF/ANSI 4
- NSF/ANSI 18
Correct answer: NSF/ANSI 3
NSF/ANSI 3 covers the sanitation requirements for commercial warewashing equipment including dishwashers, glasswashers, and pot washers.
Question 7: A technician discovers that a restaurant's walk-in cooler refrigerant circuit uses R-22. Under current EPA regulations, which statement is TRUE?
- R-22 may no longer be purchased or used under any circumstances
- Virgin R-22 production is banned, but recovered and reclaimed R-22 may still be used for servicing existing equipment (Correct answer)
- The technician must immediately retrofit the system to an approved substitute refrigerant
- R-22 equipment must be decommissioned within 30 days of inspection
Correct answer: Virgin R-22 production is banned, but recovered and reclaimed R-22 may still be used for servicing existing equipment
Since January 1, 2020, virgin R-22 production and import have been banned in the US, but reclaimed or recovered R-22 can still legally be used to service existing equipment.
CFESA Industry Standards and Regulations 4
Under ASHRAE Standard 15, what is the maximum allowable refrigerant concentration limit (RCL) used to determine if a machinery room is required?