PSI Workplace Safety and Compliance 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under OSHA's Bloodborne Pathogens standard, which approach requires treating all human blood and certain body fluids as if they are infectious?
- Body substance isolation
- Universal precautions (Correct answer)
- Standard barrier precautions
- Infectious disease protocol
Correct answer: Universal precautions
Universal precautions is the OSHA-mandated approach under 29 CFR 1910.1030 that treats all blood and certain body fluids as potentially infectious for HIV, HBV, and other bloodborne pathogens.
Question 2: What must employers provide at no cost to employees who have occupational exposure to bloodborne pathogens?
- Health insurance covering hepatitis treatment
- Hepatitis B vaccination series (Correct answer)
- Annual blood tests and treatment if infected
- Personal health monitoring equipment
Correct answer: Hepatitis B vaccination series
OSHA's Bloodborne Pathogens standard requires employers to offer the Hepatitis B vaccine series free of charge to all employees with occupational exposure.
Question 3: What is the primary purpose of OSHA's Process Safety Management (PSM) standard?
- To regulate chemical transportation between facilities
- To prevent catastrophic releases of highly hazardous chemicals (Correct answer)
- To establish chemical exposure limits for workers
- To manage chemical purchasing and inventory
Correct answer: To prevent catastrophic releases of highly hazardous chemicals
OSHA's PSM standard (29 CFR 1910.119) is designed to prevent or minimize the consequences of catastrophic releases of toxic, reactive, flammable, or explosive chemicals.
Question 4: What triggers coverage under OSHA's PSM standard?
- Any use of chemicals in a manufacturing process
- Having more than 10 employees who work with chemicals
- Possessing listed highly hazardous chemicals at or above threshold quantities (Correct answer)
- Operating a chemical plant with revenues over $1 million
Correct answer: Possessing listed highly hazardous chemicals at or above threshold quantities
PSM coverage is triggered when a facility possesses OSHA-listed highly hazardous chemicals at or above the threshold quantities specified in Appendix A of the standard.
Question 5: Under OSHA's Emergency Action Plan (EAP) requirements, what must employers with 11 or more employees do with their EAP?
- Post it on the company website
- Keep it written and available for employee review (Correct answer)
- Submit it annually to the local fire department
- Have it reviewed by OSHA annually
Correct answer: Keep it written and available for employee review
OSHA requires employers with 11 or more employees to maintain a written Emergency Action Plan that is kept in the workplace and available for employee review.
Question 6: Which of the following is a key element that must be included in an OSHA-compliant Emergency Action Plan?
- A list of all chemicals used in the facility
- Procedures for reporting fires and other emergencies (Correct answer)
- Employee medical history records
- Insurance information for property damage claims
Correct answer: Procedures for reporting fires and other emergencies
OSHA's EAP standard (29 CFR 1910.38) requires procedures for reporting emergencies, evacuation routes and procedures, and employee accounting methods after evacuation.
Question 7: What is an employer's obligation under OSHA's Injury and Illness Recordkeeping rule when a work-related fatality occurs?
- Report it within 8 hours to OSHA (Correct answer)
- File a written report within 30 days
- Report it at the end of the calendar year
- Only report it if requested during an OSHA inspection
Correct answer: Report it within 8 hours to OSHA
OSHA requires employers to report all work-related fatalities to OSHA within 8 hours of learning about them, either by phone or online.
PSI Workplace Safety and Compliance 5
Under OSHA's Bloodborne Pathogens standard, which approach requires treating all human blood and certain body fluids as if they are infectious?