Regulatory Investigation & Response Flashcards
7 cards from real SSP practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Regulatory Investigation & Response flashcards as text
A facility receives an EPA Notice of Violation for exceeding air emission limits. The facility has already corrected the excess emissions. Can the EPA still assess civil penalties?
Answer: Yes, because civil penalties may address the period during which the violation occurred
Under the Clean Air Act and similar environmental laws, civil penalties can be assessed for the period of non-compliance even after the violation has been corrected.
What is the primary purpose of OSHA's Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP)?
Answer: To recognize employers with exemplary safety and health management systems that go beyond regulatory compliance
VPP recognizes employers who demonstrate exemplary safety programs exceeding OSHA requirements; VPP participants are generally exempt from programmed inspections but not all inspections.
During an investigation, an investigator discovers that a key witness has a personal financial interest in the outcome. This represents which investigative challenge?
Answer: Witness bias or conflict of interest
A witness with a personal financial stake in the outcome presents a bias or conflict of interest that must be documented and considered when weighing testimony.
RCRA (Resource Conservation and Recovery Act) cradle-to-grave tracking requires generators to track hazardous waste using which document?
Answer: Uniform Hazardous Waste Manifest
RCRA requires the Uniform Hazardous Waste Manifest to accompany hazardous waste from the point of generation through transportation to final disposal.
An employer wishes to contest an OSHA citation. Within how many working days of receiving the citation must the employer file a Notice of Contest?
Answer: 15 working days
Under the OSH Act, employers have 15 working days from receipt of a citation to file a Notice of Contest with the OSHA area director.
When conducting a root cause analysis following a regulatory incident, the 'why-why' or '5 Whys' method is used to:
Answer: Drill down through contributing factors to identify the systemic root cause
The 5 Whys technique iteratively asks why each contributing factor occurred, progressively revealing the underlying systemic cause of an incident.
A safety practitioner is asked to prepare for a regulatory agency's programmed inspection. Which action best demonstrates proactive regulatory preparedness?
Answer: Conducting a pre-inspection internal audit against current regulatory standards
A pre-inspection internal audit identifies and corrects compliance gaps before the regulatory agency arrives, demonstrating genuine proactive compliance commitment.