CIH IH Program Management 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: An IH professional is integrating industrial hygiene into a company's enterprise risk management (ERM) system. Which approach best aligns IH risks with ERM language?
- Submitting OSHA 300 logs to the ERM database
- Expressing IH hazards as likelihood-consequence risk ratings consistent with ERM risk appetite thresholds (Correct answer)
- Providing raw air sampling data to the ERM team
- Listing all chemicals in the SDS library as ERM line items
Correct answer: Expressing IH hazards as likelihood-consequence risk ratings consistent with ERM risk appetite thresholds
Translating IH hazards into ERM-compatible risk ratings allows leadership to compare occupational health risks against other enterprise risks using a common framework.
Question 2: Which of the following represents the most effective strategy for sustaining an IH program when organizational resources are reduced due to budget cuts?
- Eliminate all voluntary monitoring and focus only on OSHA-mandated programs
- Prioritize highest-risk exposures and implement tiered monitoring strategies to maintain core protections (Correct answer)
- Transfer all IH responsibilities to supervisors without additional training
- Suspend the program until full funding is restored
Correct answer: Prioritize highest-risk exposures and implement tiered monitoring strategies to maintain core protections
Risk-based prioritization ensures that limited resources protect workers from the most significant hazards while maintaining program integrity.
Question 3: Under OSHA's Access to Employee Exposure and Medical Records standard (29 CFR 1910.1020), employers must retain employee exposure records for:
- 5 years after the date of the record
- 30 years
- Duration of employment plus 30 years (Correct answer)
- 10 years after the employee leaves the company
Correct answer: Duration of employment plus 30 years
29 CFR 1910.1020 requires exposure records to be retained for the duration of employment plus 30 years to protect workers with long-latency diseases.
Question 4: An IH manager notices that corrective actions from previous audits are frequently not implemented on schedule. The most appropriate management response is to:
- Increase the frequency of audits to create urgency
- Establish a formal corrective action tracking system with assigned owners and due dates reviewed by management (Correct answer)
- Reduce the number of corrective actions identified per audit
- Transfer audit responsibility to an external contractor
Correct answer: Establish a formal corrective action tracking system with assigned owners and due dates reviewed by management
A formal tracking system with ownership and management oversight creates accountability and ensures corrective actions are completed systematically.
Question 5: When selecting a contract industrial hygienist for a special project, which qualification criterion is most critical?
- Geographic proximity to the facility
- Relevant CIH certification, documented experience with the specific hazard type, and verifiable references (Correct answer)
- Lowest hourly billing rate among candidates
- Availability to start immediately without a formal contract
Correct answer: Relevant CIH certification, documented experience with the specific hazard type, and verifiable references
CIH certification, hazard-specific experience, and verifiable references together ensure the contractor has the competence needed for the work.
Question 6: The 'hierarchy of controls' in IH program management prioritizes elimination over other controls because:
- Elimination is the least expensive control option in all cases
- Removing the hazard entirely eliminates the risk without relying on worker behavior or equipment performance (Correct answer)
- OSHA regulations require elimination to be attempted first in all circumstances
- Elimination controls are easiest to document for regulatory compliance
Correct answer: Removing the hazard entirely eliminates the risk without relying on worker behavior or equipment performance
Elimination removes the source of harm entirely, providing the highest level of protection without depending on human or equipment reliability.
Question 7: Which document is the primary tool for communicating an IH program's scope, objectives, and procedures to all organizational stakeholders?
- OSHA 300A summary form
- Written IH program manual or plan (Correct answer)
- Chemical inventory spreadsheet
- Emergency response plan
Correct answer: Written IH program manual or plan
A written IH program manual formally documents the program's scope, goals, procedures, and responsibilities for all stakeholders.
CIH IH Program Management 3
An IH professional is integrating industrial hygiene into a company's enterprise risk management (ERM) system.
Which approach best aligns IH risks with ERM language?