CRA Facility Operations & Maintenance 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which federal regulation requires research institutions to maintain records of hazardous waste disposal for a minimum of three years?
- OSHA 29 CFR 1910.1200
- EPA 40 CFR Part 262 (Correct answer)
- NIH Guidelines Section IV-B
- NSF Facilities Policy 2.4
Correct answer: EPA 40 CFR Part 262
EPA 40 CFR Part 262 governs hazardous waste generators and mandates retention of waste manifests and disposal records for at least three years.
Question 2: A research facility's HVAC system must maintain negative pressure in which type of laboratory to prevent cross-contamination?
- Chemistry synthesis labs
- BSL-3 biosafety labs (Correct answer)
- Animal holding rooms
- Clean rooms for semiconductor research
Correct answer: BSL-3 biosafety labs
BSL-3 laboratories require negative air pressure relative to adjacent corridors to contain potentially infectious aerosols.
Question 3: Under the NIH Guidelines, what entity is responsible for approving the construction or renovation of facilities that will house recombinant DNA research?
- The Institutional Review Board (IRB)
- The Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC) (Correct answer)
- The Environmental Health and Safety Office
- The Office of Research Integrity
Correct answer: The Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC)
The IBC must review and approve facility design for recombinant DNA work to ensure compliance with NIH Guidelines.
Question 4: A sponsored project budget includes $50,000 for equipment installation in a campus building. How should this cost typically be classified?
- Direct cost — facilities and administrative
- Capital expenditure requiring prior sponsor approval (Correct answer)
- Indirect cost recovered through the F&A rate
- Unallowable cost under 2 CFR 200
Correct answer: Capital expenditure requiring prior sponsor approval
Equipment installation costs tied to a specific sponsored project are direct costs but often require prior sponsor approval when they meet capitalization thresholds.
Question 5: Which document formally defines the negotiated Facilities and Administrative (F&A) cost rate between a university and the federal government?
- The institution's indirect cost proposal
- A Rate Agreement signed by the cognizant federal agency (Correct answer)
- The annual financial audit report
- The sponsored project's budget justification
Correct answer: A Rate Agreement signed by the cognizant federal agency
The Rate Agreement is a binding document executed between the institution and its cognizant agency (typically DHHS or ONR) establishing the negotiated F&A rates.
Question 6: When calculating the Modified Total Direct Costs (MTDC) base for F&A recovery, which cost is EXCLUDED?
- Faculty salaries and wages
- Graduate student tuition remission over $25,000
- Subcontract costs exceeding $25,000 per subcontract (Correct answer)
- Supplies and materials
Correct answer: Subcontract costs exceeding $25,000 per subcontract
Under 2 CFR 200.68, subcontract costs above the first $25,000 of each subcontract are excluded from the MTDC base.
Question 7: A principal investigator requests that routine building maintenance costs be charged directly to a federal grant. Under 2 CFR 200, this is generally:
- Allowable if the PI documents the research benefit
- Unallowable because such costs are recovered through F&A rates (Correct answer)
- Allowable as a direct cost if under $5,000
- Allowable with prior written approval from the sponsor
Correct answer: Unallowable because such costs are recovered through F&A rates
Routine building maintenance is an indirect cost recovered through the F&A rate and cannot be charged directly to federal awards per 2 CFR 200.
CRA Facility Operations & Maintenance 2
Which federal regulation requires research institutions to maintain records of hazardous waste disposal for a minimum of three years?