HSE Emergency Response Planning and Incident Investigation 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which federal regulation requires facilities with extremely hazardous substances above threshold quantities to notify the Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC)?
- OSHA 29 CFR 1910.119 (PSM)
- SARA Title III / EPCRA (Correct answer)
- EPA 40 CFR Part 68 (RMP)
- RCRA Subtitle C
Correct answer: SARA Title III / EPCRA
SARA Title III (EPCRA) requires facilities to notify LEPCs and provide hazardous chemical inventories to support community emergency planning.
Question 2: In Fault Tree Analysis (FTA), an 'AND gate' means:
- Any single input event is sufficient to produce the output event
- All input events must occur simultaneously for the output event to occur (Correct answer)
- At least one input must be absent for the system to fail
- The output is independent of all inputs
Correct answer: All input events must occur simultaneously for the output event to occur
An AND gate in FTA requires all connected input events to occur together before the higher-level failure event can happen.
Question 3: A Drill differs from a Full-Scale Exercise primarily because a drill:
- Tests multiple agencies and functions simultaneously
- Is a coordinated, time-limited event with multiple players
- Practices a single, specific operation or function (Correct answer)
- Requires a designated exercise controller and evaluators
Correct answer: Practices a single, specific operation or function
A drill is a coordinated supervised activity that tests a single specific function, whereas a full-scale exercise tests all functions together with multiple agencies.
Question 4: Which factor is MOST critical when selecting a Incident Command Post (ICP) location?
- Proximity to the hazard for faster communication
- Upwind and uphill position outside the hazard zone (Correct answer)
- Visibility to media for public information purposes
- Proximity to the nearest hospital
Correct answer: Upwind and uphill position outside the hazard zone
The ICP must be positioned upwind and uphill of the hazard to protect personnel from toxic releases and prevent contamination.
Question 5: What is 'loss causation' as described by Frank Bird's Domino Theory?
- A financial model for estimating property damage after incidents
- A sequence where lack of management control leads to basic causes, immediate causes, incident, and loss (Correct answer)
- A method for ranking corrective actions by return on investment
- A legal doctrine assigning proportional liability to multiple parties
Correct answer: A sequence where lack of management control leads to basic causes, immediate causes, incident, and loss
Bird's updated domino model shows that management system deficiencies cascade through root and immediate causes to produce incidents and losses.
Question 6: Under NIMS, 'Unified Command' is used when:
- A single jurisdiction and agency has sole authority over an incident
- Multiple agencies or jurisdictions share incident management authority (Correct answer)
- The incident is classified as a catastrophic national emergency
- A federal agency overrides state and local responders
Correct answer: Multiple agencies or jurisdictions share incident management authority
Unified Command allows multiple agencies with different legal authorities to manage an incident together without losing individual agency authority.
Question 7: Which corrective action category focuses on eliminating the hazard at its source rather than managing exposure to it?
- Administrative controls
- Engineering controls (Correct answer)
- Personal protective equipment
- Emergency response procedures
Correct answer: Engineering controls
Engineering controls physically eliminate or reduce the hazard at the source, providing more reliable protection than administrative measures or PPE.
HSE Emergency Response Planning and Incident Investigation 3
Which federal regulation requires facilities with extremely hazardous substances above threshold quantities to notify the Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC)?