CSP Certified Safety Professional (CSP) Random 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A workplace noise exposure survey finds a worker is exposed to 95 dBA for 4 hours and 90 dBA for 4 hours. Using OSHA's permissible exposure limits, what is the dose?
- 75%
- 100%
- 125% (Correct answer)
- 150%
Correct answer: 125%
Dose = (4/4) + (4/8) = 1.0 + 0.5 = 1.5 = 150%; at 95 dBA the PEL is 4 hours and at 90 dBA it is 8 hours.
Question 2: Which type of fire extinguisher is specifically rated for use on energized electrical equipment fires (Class C)?
- Water-based extinguisher
- Non-conductive agent extinguisher (CO2 or dry chemical) (Correct answer)
- Class K wet chemical extinguisher
- Foam extinguisher
Correct answer: Non-conductive agent extinguisher (CO2 or dry chemical)
Class C fires involving energized electrical equipment require non-conductive extinguishing agents such as CO2 or dry chemical to avoid electrical shock to the operator.
Question 3: Under OSHA's Respiratory Protection Standard (29 CFR 1910.134), an Assigned Protection Factor (APF) of 10 means the respirator:
- Reduces exposure to 10% of the ambient concentration
- Is approved for use up to 10 times the PEL (Correct answer)
- Provides 10 hours of protection
- Requires 10-minute fit testing intervals
Correct answer: Is approved for use up to 10 times the PEL
An APF of 10 means the respirator is expected to reduce workplace concentration by a factor of 10, so it can be used when exposures are up to 10× the OEL.
Question 4: The Haddon Matrix is a tool used in safety analysis that organizes factors across three phases and three columns. The three phases are:
- Plan, Do, Check
- Pre-event, Event, Post-event (Correct answer)
- Identify, Evaluate, Control
- Input, Process, Output
Correct answer: Pre-event, Event, Post-event
The Haddon Matrix analyzes injury factors across Pre-event, Event, and Post-event phases against host, agent/vehicle, and environment factors.
Question 5: Which term describes the probability that a system or component will perform its required function under stated conditions for a specified period of time?
- Availability
- Maintainability
- Reliability (Correct answer)
- Redundancy
Correct answer: Reliability
Reliability is the probability that a system performs its intended function without failure over a specified time interval and under specified conditions.
Question 6: According to OSHA's Excavation Standard (29 CFR 1926 Subpart P), a competent person must inspect excavations:
- Once per week regardless of conditions
- Before each work shift and after any event that could affect stability (Correct answer)
- Only when a cave-in warning is observed
- Monthly or after any rainfall
Correct answer: Before each work shift and after any event that could affect stability
OSHA requires a competent person to inspect excavations before each shift and following any rain, earthquake, or other event that could increase hazard potential.
Question 7: In a fault tree analysis (FTA), an AND gate indicates that:
- Any single input event is sufficient to cause the output event
- All input events must occur simultaneously for the output event to occur (Correct answer)
- At least one of two events must fail for the system to fail
- The output event occurs independently of the inputs
Correct answer: All input events must occur simultaneously for the output event to occur
An AND gate in a fault tree requires ALL input events to occur for the output (top) event to occur, indicating redundant safeguards must all fail simultaneously.
A workplace noise exposure survey finds a worker is exposed to 95 dBA for 4 hours and 90 dBA for 4 hours.
Using OSHA's permissible exposure limits, what is the dose?