SSP Environmental Health & Safety 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: When selecting personal protective equipment (PPE) for chemical hazards, which OSHA standard requires employers to conduct a workplace hazard assessment and certify it in writing?
- 29 CFR 1910.132 (Correct answer)
- 29 CFR 1910.1000
- 29 CFR 1910.38
- 29 CFR 1910.147
Correct answer: 29 CFR 1910.132
29 CFR 1910.132 (General PPE Requirements) mandates that employers assess the workplace for hazards that necessitate PPE and document that assessment in a written certification.
Question 2: A 'immediately dangerous to life or health' (IDLH) concentration is defined as the maximum level from which a worker could escape within how many minutes without irreversible health effects?
- 10 minutes
- 20 minutes
- 30 minutes (Correct answer)
- 60 minutes
Correct answer: 30 minutes
NIOSH defines IDLH as the maximum concentration from which a worker could escape within 30 minutes without experiencing irreversible health effects or escape-impairing symptoms.
Question 3: Under EPCRA Section 313, facilities must submit Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) reports to EPA and state agencies annually. The reporting threshold for most listed chemicals is:
- 100 pounds manufactured or processed per year
- 10,000 pounds manufactured or processed per year
- 25,000 pounds manufactured or processed, or 10,000 pounds otherwise used (Correct answer)
- 500 pounds released to the environment
Correct answer: 25,000 pounds manufactured or processed, or 10,000 pounds otherwise used
TRI reporting is triggered when a facility manufactures or processes 25,000 lbs or otherwise uses 10,000 lbs of a listed toxic chemical in a calendar year.
Question 4: Which type of industrial ventilation system is best suited for controlling airborne contaminants generated at a fixed point, such as a welding station?
- General dilution ventilation
- Local exhaust ventilation (LEV) (Correct answer)
- Make-up air supply system
- Recirculating air filtration unit
Correct answer: Local exhaust ventilation (LEV)
Local exhaust ventilation captures contaminants at their source before they disperse into the work environment, making it more effective and efficient than dilution ventilation for fixed-point sources.
Question 5: An employer discovers that a former dry-cleaning operation on their property has left behind perchloroethylene (PERC) in the soil. Which federal program primarily governs cleanup of this contaminated site?
- RCRA corrective action
- CERCLA/Superfund (Correct answer)
- Clean Water Act Section 404
- TSCA inventory reporting
Correct answer: CERCLA/Superfund
CERCLA (Superfund) governs cleanup of contaminated sites involving hazardous substances, authorizing EPA to compel responsible parties to remediate or fund cleanup.
Question 6: Which of the following best describes the 'hierarchy of controls' for occupational health hazards, listed from most to least effective?
- PPE → Administrative → Engineering → Substitution → Elimination
- Elimination → Substitution → Engineering controls → Administrative controls → PPE (Correct answer)
- Administrative → Engineering → PPE → Substitution → Elimination
- Substitution → PPE → Administrative → Engineering → Elimination
Correct answer: Elimination → Substitution → Engineering controls → Administrative controls → PPE
The hierarchy of controls ranks from most to least effective: Elimination, Substitution, Engineering controls, Administrative controls, and PPE — with PPE as the last resort.
Question 7: Under OSHA's Lockout/Tagout (LOTO) standard (29 CFR 1910.147), which condition must be verified before work begins on equipment after energy isolation?
- The maintenance supervisor has signed the permit
- Zero energy state is verified through testing or sensing devices (Correct answer)
- A tagout device has been applied by every authorized employee
- The equipment manufacturer has been notified of the shutdown
Correct answer: Zero energy state is verified through testing or sensing devices
After locking out energy sources, authorized employees must verify that the equipment has achieved a zero energy state by attempting to start it or using sensing devices before servicing begins.
SSP Environmental Health & Safety 5
When selecting personal protective equipment (PPE) for chemical hazards, which OSHA standard requires employers to conduct a workplace hazard assessment and certify it in writing?