Environmental & Sustainability Compliance Flashcards
7 cards from real CMS practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Environmental & Sustainability Compliance flashcards as text
Under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), a waste is classified as hazardous if it exhibits which of the following characteristics?
Answer: Ignitability, corrosivity, reactivity, or toxicity
RCRA defines hazardous waste by four characteristics: ignitability, corrosivity, reactivity, and toxicity (ICRT).
Which ISO standard provides the framework for an Environmental Management System (EMS) in manufacturing organizations?
Answer: ISO 14001
ISO 14001 specifies requirements for an Environmental Management System, helping organizations improve environmental performance.
A manufacturing plant discharges process wastewater into a municipal sewer system. Which regulatory program primarily governs these discharges?
Answer: Clean Water Act Pretreatment Program
The Clean Water Act Pretreatment Program regulates industrial discharges into publicly owned treatment works (POTWs).
What does the term 'life cycle assessment' (LCA) measure in the context of sustainable manufacturing?
Answer: Environmental impacts of a product from raw material extraction through end-of-life disposal
LCA evaluates environmental impacts across a product's entire life cycle, from cradle to grave, including raw materials, production, use, and disposal.
Under the Clean Air Act, a 'major source' of air pollution is generally defined as a facility emitting how many tons per year of a regulated pollutant?
Answer: 100 tons per year or more
Under CAA Title V, a major source emits 100 tons per year or more of any regulated air pollutant, triggering Title V permitting requirements.
Which of the following best describes a 'Brownfield' site in the context of environmental compliance?
Answer: A previously developed property with potential contamination from prior use
Brownfields are formerly used industrial or commercial properties where expansion or redevelopment may be complicated by actual or suspected contamination.
The Pollution Prevention Act of 1990 establishes which hierarchy of preferred approaches to managing industrial waste?
Answer: Source reduction, recycling, treatment, disposal
The Pollution Prevention Act hierarchy prioritizes source reduction first, then recycling, then treatment, with disposal as the least preferred option.