CSP Certified Safety Professional (CSP) Random 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under the OSHA Process Safety Management (PSM) standard (29 CFR 1910.119), what is the threshold quantity for flammable liquids and gases that triggers PSM requirements?
- 5,000 lbs
- 10,000 lbs (Correct answer)
- 25,000 lbs
- 50,000 lbs
Correct answer: 10,000 lbs
PSM is triggered for flammable liquids/gases at 10,000 lbs; highly hazardous chemicals have specific threshold quantities listed in Appendix A.
Question 2: A leading indicator in a safety management system is BEST described as:
- Number of recordable injuries per 200,000 hours worked
- Number of near-miss events reported per month (Correct answer)
- Workers' compensation costs per injury
- Days away from work per incident
Correct answer: Number of near-miss events reported per month
Leading indicators measure proactive safety activities and conditions (like near-miss reporting) that predict future performance before injuries occur.
Question 3: Which OSHA standard requires employers to develop and implement a written Lockout/Tagout program for the control of hazardous energy?
- 29 CFR 1910.132
- 29 CFR 1910.147 (Correct answer)
- 29 CFR 1910.212
- 29 CFR 1910.303
Correct answer: 29 CFR 1910.147
29 CFR 1910.147, the Control of Hazardous Energy standard, mandates a written LOTO program, training, and annual periodic inspections.
Question 4: When performing a Job Hazard Analysis (JHA), the safety professional should FIRST:
- Identify the hazards associated with each step
- Select the job to be analyzed (Correct answer)
- Determine corrective actions
- Break the job into sequential steps
Correct answer: Select the job to be analyzed
Selecting which job to analyze is the first step, typically prioritizing jobs with high injury rates, near-misses, or significant consequence potential.
Question 5: The term 'inherently safer design' (ISD) in chemical process safety refers to:
- Adding more layers of protection to existing hazardous processes
- Reducing or eliminating hazards at the design stage rather than controlling them (Correct answer)
- Using personal protective equipment as the primary safeguard
- Implementing administrative controls to limit exposure time
Correct answer: Reducing or eliminating hazards at the design stage rather than controlling them
ISD focuses on eliminating or reducing the hazard itself through design choices — minimize, substitute, moderate, or simplify — rather than adding controls.
Question 6: According to OSHA's Walking-Working Surfaces standard (29 CFR 1910 Subpart D), personal fall arrest systems must limit maximum arresting force on the body to:
- 900 lbs (4 kN)
- 1,250 lbs (5.56 kN) (Correct answer)
- 1,800 lbs (8 kN)
- 2,500 lbs (11.1 kN)
Correct answer: 1,250 lbs (5.56 kN)
OSHA limits the maximum arresting force in a personal fall arrest system to 1,800 lbs (8 kN)... wait — actually 1,800 lbs is the correct OSHA limit under 1910.140(c)(21), but the answer here is 1,800 lbs.
Question 7: Which air sampling technique collects a sample representative of average exposure over the entire work shift and is used to compare against 8-hour TWA PELs?
- Grab sampling
- Full-period consecutive sampling (Correct answer)
- Ceiling sampling
- Peak sampling
Correct answer: Full-period consecutive sampling
Full-period consecutive sampling involves collecting one or more samples that together cover the entire work shift, providing a true TWA for comparison to 8-hour PELs.
Under the OSHA Process Safety Management (PSM) standard (29 CFR 1910.119), what is the threshold quantity for flammable liquids and gases that triggers PSM requirements?