Chesapeake Chapter of the American Society of Safety Engineers

Answers to the February "Test Your Knowledge" Questions!

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Here are the answers to our “Test your Knowledge” Questions for February, provided by the Chesapeake Chapter ASP/CSP Review Chair -- Pete Holzberg, CSP, ARM, ALCM

Compare your answers with our expert. Check back later this month for the next set of questions!

For a review of the November, December, and January questions and answers, click on the box to the right. How well did you do?

1. Your company receives an OSHA citation for inadequate fall protection at one of your job sites. Your next step is:

a. Call the OSHA inspector immediately and tell him the problem has been corrected.
b. Pay the fine within 15 days by registered mail and then request a hearing.
c. Post the citation in a conspicuous location at the site for 3 days or until corrected, which ever is longer
d. Schedule an informal conference with the Area Director within 3 weeks.

2. You are annoyed by receiving this citation because you have safety rules and procedures in place, and the citation was the result of employee misconduct. In appealing the citation, the correct process in order of legal precedence is:

a. OSHA Area Director, OSHA Review Commission (OSHRC), Supreme Court
b. Administrative Law Judge, OSHRC, Court of Appeals, Supreme Court
c. OSHRC, District Court, Court of Appeals, Supreme Court
d. Informal Conference, OSHRC, Court of Appeals, Supreme Court

3. As an industrial hygienist, you conduct an 8 hour personal breathing zone sample of an employee’s exposure to an airborne concentration of a roof glue compound that contains 3 volatile chemicals: Xylene, Toluene, and MEK. The TWA lab results are: 45ppm Xylene, 50 ppm Toluene, and 80 ppm MEK.

Part A: What is the overall exposure (assuming PEL’s)? Is it within acceptable limits?

a. 90%
b. 58%
c. 110%
d. 80%

Assuming a non-synergistic reaction among the chemicals, overall exposure to a compound is mathematically determined by adding the three “fractions” consisting of TWA over PEL of each chemical (look up the PEL, as it is not given). PEL Xylene = 100ppm, Toluene= 200ppm, MEK= 200ppm. Hence:

45/100 + 50/200 + 80/200 = 1.10 or 110% Overexposure (over 1.0 or 100%)

Part B: If a new glue compound is developed that totally removes the toluene, would the employee’s overall exposure be within acceptable limits?

a. Yes
b. No

Removing the Toluene takes away the 50/200 fraction, thus the exposure now is:

45/100 + 80/200 = 0.85 or 85% exposure, within limits. (under 1.0 or 100%).

Answers to the February "Test Your Knowledge" Questions!

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