CSC Emergency Response & Preparedness 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which EPA program requires facilities storing extremely hazardous substances above threshold planning quantities to notify their Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC)?
- RCRA Corrective Action Program
- Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) Section 302 (Correct answer)
- Clean Air Act Title V
- Safe Drinking Water Act UIC Program
Correct answer: Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) Section 302
EPCRA Section 302 mandates that facilities with extremely hazardous substances above threshold planning quantities notify their LEPC and State Emergency Response Commission.
Question 2: A company's emergency response drill reveals that its evacuation routes are blocked by newly installed equipment. What is the most appropriate immediate corrective action?
- Document the finding and address it in the next annual plan review
- Immediately clear or reroute egress paths and update the emergency response plan (Correct answer)
- Notify OSHA proactively before taking corrective action
- Retrain employees on the current routes
Correct answer: Immediately clear or reroute egress paths and update the emergency response plan
Blocked egress is an immediate life-safety hazard requiring prompt physical correction and plan update, not deferred remediation.
Question 3: What is the primary purpose of a Hazard and Operability Study (HAZOP) in industrial emergency preparedness?
- To audit financial risk reserves for disaster scenarios
- To systematically identify process deviations that could lead to hazardous events (Correct answer)
- To comply with ISO 14001 emergency response requirements
- To train first responders on chemical properties
Correct answer: To systematically identify process deviations that could lead to hazardous events
A HAZOP systematically reviews process designs using guide words to identify deviations that could result in hazardous incidents.
Question 4: Under the Clean Air Act's Risk Management Program (RMP), facilities exceeding threshold quantities of regulated substances must submit an RMP that includes which key element?
- A Pollution Prevention Plan certified by a licensed engineer
- An Offsite Consequence Analysis (OCA) showing worst-case and alternative release scenarios (Correct answer)
- A GHG inventory using EPA's eGRID emission factors
- An environmental justice screening using EJSCREEN
Correct answer: An Offsite Consequence Analysis (OCA) showing worst-case and alternative release scenarios
The RMP requires an Offsite Consequence Analysis modeling worst-case and alternative scenarios to inform nearby community emergency planning.
Question 5: A sustainability consultant recommends incorporating 'ecosystem-based disaster risk reduction' into a coastal municipality's plan. What does this approach emphasize?
- Installing artificial reefs funded by carbon offsets
- Using healthy natural ecosystems like wetlands and mangroves as buffers against disasters (Correct answer)
- Replacing gray infrastructure with modular floating structures
- Conducting environmental impact assessments before all emergency expenditures
Correct answer: Using healthy natural ecosystems like wetlands and mangroves as buffers against disasters
Ecosystem-based disaster risk reduction leverages natural systems such as wetlands and mangroves to attenuate storm surge, flooding, and erosion.
Question 6: Which section of the National Response Framework (NRF) coordinates federal response to disasters and assigns responsibilities to federal departments?
- Emergency Support Functions (ESFs) (Correct answer)
- Unified Command Protocols
- National Incident Management System (NIMS) Annex
- Community Lifelines Framework
Correct answer: Emergency Support Functions (ESFs)
The NRF's Emergency Support Functions (ESFs) group federal capabilities and resources into 15 functional areas for coordinated disaster response.
Question 7: An organization experiences a wildfire that destroys its on-site records. Which emergency preparedness best practice would have most directly prevented this data loss?
- Maintaining hard-copy records in fireproof cabinets only
- Implementing off-site or cloud-based data backup and redundancy systems (Correct answer)
- Purchasing disaster recovery insurance before wildfire season
- Training staff on digital record management protocols
Correct answer: Implementing off-site or cloud-based data backup and redundancy systems
Off-site or cloud-based data backups ensure records survive facility destruction, a core element of business continuity planning.
CSC Emergency Response & Preparedness 3
Which EPA program requires facilities storing extremely hazardous substances above threshold planning quantities to notify their Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC)?