SM Risk Management & Mitigation 2

Question 1

Which document serves as the foundational risk assessment tool required before initiating work with a select agent in a BSL-3 laboratory?

Accepted Answer

Agent-specific risk assessment

Answer

An agent-specific risk assessment identifies hazards, exposure routes, and controls before any work begins with a particular pathogen or toxin.

Question 2

A microbiologist accidentally splashes a BSL-2 bacterial culture onto an open skin abrasion. After immediate wound irrigation, what is the NEXT required action?

Accepted Answer

Report to occupational health or biosafety officer immediately

Answer

Immediate reporting to occupational health or the biosafety officer is mandatory so that exposure can be evaluated, documented, and prophylaxis initiated if indicated.

Question 3

The hierarchy of controls in laboratory biosafety lists which option as the MOST effective risk reduction strategy?

Accepted Answer

Elimination or substitution of the hazard

Answer

Elimination or substitution sits at the top of the hierarchy of controls because it removes the hazard entirely rather than managing exposure to it.

Question 4

A biosafety officer discovers that a BSL-3 researcher is routinely leaving the inner door of the double-door airlock open during sample processing. Which risk category does this practice primarily compromise?

Accepted Answer

Physical containment integrity

Answer

Leaving the airlock inner door open breaks the physical containment barrier designed to prevent aerosol escape from the BSL-3 zone.

Question 5

Which CDC/NIH biosafety level is required for work with Mycobacterium tuberculosis in clinical specimens?

Accepted Answer

BSL-3

Answer

M. tuberculosis requires BSL-3 conditions because of its airborne transmission route and serious disease potential in immunocompetent individuals.

(SM) Specialist in Microbiology Practice Test

(SM) Specialist in Microbiology Practice Test

SM Risk Management & Mitigation 2