CHC Safety & Risk Management 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A CHC contractor discovers unmarked pipes during excavation near a hospital utility tunnel. What is the correct first step?
- Continue work cautiously while visually tracking the pipe direction
- Stop work and contact the utility owner or facility engineer to identify the lines (Correct answer)
- Mark the pipes with flags and continue digging at a safe distance
- Call 811 after the fact to update utility records
Correct answer: Stop work and contact the utility owner or facility engineer to identify the lines
Work must stop immediately upon discovering unmarked utilities, and the facility engineer or utility owner must identify lines before work resumes to prevent service disruptions or injury.
Question 2: Which NFPA standard governs the storage and handling of medical gases, including oxygen, in healthcare construction areas?
- NFPA 101
- NFPA 99 (Correct answer)
- NFPA 70
- NFPA 13
Correct answer: NFPA 99
NFPA 99, Health Care Facilities Code, governs medical gas systems including storage, handling, and piping in healthcare facilities.
Question 3: Under the ICRA matrix, which construction activity TYPE requires the highest level of infection control precautions?
- Type A — inspection and non-invasive activities
- Type B — small scale, short duration activities
- Type C — activities generating moderate dust
- Type D — major demolition and construction requiring full barriers (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Type D — major demolition and construction requiring full barriers
Type D activities, such as major demolition, generate the most dust and require the highest ICRA precautions including full barriers, negative pressure, and HEPA filtration.
Question 4: What is the primary purpose of a 'hot work permit' system on a healthcare construction project?
- To track overtime hours for workers in high-temperature environments
- To control ignition sources and prevent fires during welding, cutting, and grinding (Correct answer)
- To document heat stress incidents among construction workers
- To ensure fire suppression systems are tested before hot weather seasons
Correct answer: To control ignition sources and prevent fires during welding, cutting, and grinding
Hot work permits control open-flame and spark-producing activities by requiring safety checks, fire watch, and documentation to prevent accidental fires.
Question 5: A risk assessment matrix scores a hazard as 'high likelihood' and 'catastrophic severity.' Which risk response is MOST appropriate?
- Accept the risk and monitor it quarterly
- Transfer the risk to the subcontractor's insurance policy
- Immediately implement controls to reduce likelihood and severity (Correct answer)
- Document the risk and proceed after owner notification
Correct answer: Immediately implement controls to reduce likelihood and severity
A high-likelihood, catastrophic-severity risk falls in the highest risk zone and demands immediate mitigation to reduce both probability and impact.
Question 6: Which type of respiratory protection is required for workers performing Category 3 silica-generating tasks under OSHA's Respirable Crystalline Silica standard (29 CFR 1926.1153)?
- N95 filtering facepiece respirator
- Half-face air-purifying respirator with P100 filters (Correct answer)
- Powered air-purifying respirator (PAPR) with HEPA filter
- No respirator required if wet methods are used consistently
Correct answer: Half-face air-purifying respirator with P100 filters
OSHA Table 1 specifies that certain silica tasks require at minimum a half-face APR with P100 filters unless engineering controls fully eliminate exposure.
Question 7: When must a healthcare contractor submit an updated Infection Control Risk Assessment (ICRA) during a project?
- Only at the project kickoff meeting before construction begins
- Whenever the scope of work, construction methods, or affected risk zones change (Correct answer)
- At 30-day intervals regardless of project changes
- Only when the Joint Commission conducts a survey
Correct answer: Whenever the scope of work, construction methods, or affected risk zones change
The ICRA must be updated whenever project scope, methods, or the adjacent patient risk zones change to ensure controls remain appropriate.
CHC Safety & Risk Management 3
A CHC contractor discovers unmarked pipes during excavation near a hospital utility tunnel.
What is the correct first step?