Occupational Health and Hygiene Flashcards
7 cards from real HSE practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Occupational Health and Hygiene flashcards as text
When performing a personal air sampling for an 8-hour TWA, where should the sampling pump and filter cassette be positioned on the worker?
Answer: In the worker's breathing zone, within 12 inches of the nose and mouth
Personal air samples must be collected in the breathing zone — within approximately 12 inches of the nose and mouth — to accurately represent the air the worker actually inhales.
Which type of hazardous substance is most effectively captured by a charcoal adsorption tube during air sampling?
Answer: Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as benzene and toluene
Activated charcoal tubes adsorb volatile organic compounds from sampled air; the compounds are later desorbed and analyzed by gas chromatography.
In the context of occupational hygiene, what does 'engineering controls' specifically refer to?
Answer: Physical modifications to the workplace, equipment, or process to reduce hazard exposure
Engineering controls are physical or mechanical changes — such as enclosures, LEV systems, substitution, or process changes — that reduce or eliminate the hazard at its source.
Whole-body vibration (WBV) is most associated with which occupational health disorder?
Answer: Low back pain and spinal degeneration
WBV transmitted through a seat or floor (e.g., heavy equipment operators) is strongly associated with low back pain, disc degeneration, and other spinal disorders.
The NIOSH lifting equation recommends a maximum weight limit (RWL) based on six task variables. Which factor, when minimized, most significantly reduces the recommended weight limit?
Answer: Horizontal distance from the body to the object at the start of the lift
The horizontal distance (H factor) has the greatest mechanical disadvantage on the spine; doubling H from 10 to 20 inches cuts the RWL in half through its reciprocal relationship in the equation.
Under OSHA's Hazard Communication Standard (HazCom/GHS), a Safety Data Sheet (SDS) must contain how many sections?
Answer: 16 sections
OSHA's HazCom Standard, aligned with GHS, requires SDSs to have exactly 16 standardized sections covering identity, hazards, composition, first aid, fire fighting, and more.
A worker exposed to lead at levels exceeding the OSHA action level must be removed from exposure (medical removal protection) when blood lead levels reach which threshold?
Answer: 50 μg/dL
OSHA's Lead Standard (29 CFR 1910.1025) requires medical removal when a worker's blood lead level reaches 50 μg/dL, with return only after levels fall to 40 μg/dL.