Asbestos regulated areas and exposure monitoring practice questions

1. A crew will do Class III asbestos work, and the employer expects airborne levels to stay low. Under 1926.1101(e)(1), where must the work be conducted?

• A. Within a regulated area only if airborne concentrations are shown to exceed a PEL
• B. Within a regulated area
• C. Within a regulated area only if the material is friable
• D. Anywhere on the site, as long as a competent person is present

2. An operation is covered by the asbestos standard but is not Class I, II or III work. Under 1926.1101(e)(1), when must it be conducted within a regulated area?

• A. Only after a laboratory confirms the material contains asbestos
• B. Only when the work lasts longer than one full shift
• C. Only when more than one employer is working on the site
• D. Where airborne concentrations of asbestos exceed, or there is a reasonable possibility they may exceed, a PEL

3. Under 1926.1101(e)(2), what must the manner of demarcating a regulated area achieve?

• A. It minimizes the number of persons within the area and protects persons outside the area from exposure to airborne asbestos
• B. It uses solid walls on every side of the area
• C. It keeps the area no larger than the room where the work takes place
• D. It is approved in writing by the building owner before work starts

4. Under 1926.1101(e)(3), to whom is access to a regulated area limited?

• A. Any employee of any contractor working on the project
• B. Any person who is wearing a respirator
• C. Authorized persons and persons authorized by the Act or regulations issued pursuant thereto
• D. The competent person only

5. Employees in a regulated area are required by paragraph (h)(1) to wear respirators. An authorized person who is not on the crew needs to enter. What does 1926.1101(e)(4) require?

• A. The person shall be supplied with a respirator selected in accordance with paragraph (h)(3)
• B. The person may enter without a respirator if the visit is short
• C. The person must provide a respirator of their own choosing
• D. The person must wait outside until the work is finished

6. A contractor has sealed critical barriers over all openings into the work area of a Class I job. Under 1926.1101(e)(2), what role may those barriers play?

• A. They replace the signs that would otherwise be required
• B. They may demarcate the regulated area
• C. They allow the work to proceed without competent person supervision
• D. They change the job from Class I to Class III work

7. Under 1926.1101(e)(6), which asbestos work performed within regulated areas must the employer ensure is supervised by a competent person?

• A. Only Class I work
• B. Only work that lasts longer than one shift
• C. Only work where exposures are shown to exceed a PEL
• D. All asbestos work performed within regulated areas

8. An employer has a work operation where exposure monitoring is required under 1926.1101. Under (f)(1)(i), what must its monitoring determine accurately?

• A. The percentage of asbestos in each bulk material
• B. The amount of asbestos dust left on surfaces after cleanup
• C. The airborne concentrations of asbestos to which employees may be exposed
• D. The number of glove bags the job will need

9. Under 1926.1101(f)(1)(iii), representative 30-minute short-term exposures are based on samples representing 30-minute exposures associated with which operations?

• A. The first 30 minutes of each shift, whatever the task
• B. Operations chosen at random during the shift
• C. Operations that produce the lowest exposures in the work area
• D. Operations that are most likely to produce exposures above the excursion limit

10. Under 1926.1101(f)(2)(i), who conducts the initial exposure assessment, and when?

• A. A competent person, immediately before or at the initiation of the operation
• B. An accredited laboratory, after the first week of work
• C. The building owner, before the contract is awarded
• D. Any employee on the crew, at the end of the first shift

11. Under 1926.1101(f)(2)(ii), what must the initial exposure assessment take into consideration?

• A. The monitoring results from the current job, and nothing else
• B. Only the product label of the material to be disturbed
• C. Both the monitoring results and all observations, information or calculations which indicate employee exposure to asbestos
• D. Only the number of employees assigned to the job

12. A Class I job is starting. The employer has not yet conducted exposure monitoring for it and has not made a negative exposure assessment. Under 1926.1101(f)(2)(ii), what shall the employer presume?

• A. That employees are exposed below the PELs until monitoring shows otherwise
• B. That employees are exposed in excess of the TWA and excursion limit
• C. That employees are exposed in excess of the TWA, but not of the excursion limit
• D. That employees are exposed in excess of the excursion limit, but not of the TWA

13. Under 1926.1101(f)(2)(iii), what may a negative exposure assessment be made for?

• A. Any one specific asbestos job which will be performed by employees who have been trained in compliance with the standard
• B. All of the employer's asbestos jobs for the next 12 months
• C. Any asbestos job, whether or not the employees have been trained
• D. A whole building, covering every contractor working in it

14. An employer wants to use objective data under 1926.1101(f)(2)(iii)(A). The data must show the material or activity cannot release airborne fibers above the TWA and excursion limit under which work conditions?

• A. Average work conditions over a typical week
• B. The conditions inside the manufacturer's test laboratory only
• C. The conditions expected on the first day of the job only
• D. Those work conditions having the greatest potential for releasing asbestos

15. An employer relies on monitoring data from prior asbestos jobs under 1926.1101(f)(2)(iii)(B). How must the training and experience of the employees on those prior jobs compare with the current crew's?

• A. At least as extensive as that of employees performing the current job
• B. No more extensive than that of employees performing the current job
• C. More extensive than that of employees performing the current job
• D. Any level, because training and experience are not considered for prior-job data

16. For operations other than Class I and II work, 1926.1101(f)(3)(ii) requires periodic monitoring of all work where exposures are expected to exceed a PEL. What must the monitoring intervals be sufficient to do?

• A. Identify which employees need medical surveillance
• B. Determine the asbestos content of the material being disturbed
• C. Document the validity of the exposure prediction
• D. Replace the need for an initial exposure assessment

17. A Class I crew uses a modification of a control method listed in (g)(4)(i), and all of them wear supplied-air respirators operated in the pressure demand mode. Under 1926.1101(f)(3)(iii), what monitoring applies to them?

• A. Daily monitoring may be dispensed with because of the respirators
• B. They are monitored only when a change in work practices occurs
• C. They shall continue to be monitored daily
• D. They are monitored once a week instead of daily

18. A negative exposure assessment was produced for a specific job. Midway through, the employer changes personnel in a way that may result in new exposures above the permissible exposure limit. What does 1926.1101(f)(4)(ii) require?

• A. Institute the exposure monitoring required under paragraph (f)(3)
• B. Nothing new, because the negative exposure assessment stays valid for that job
• C. Stop the job until a new negative exposure assessment is approved by OSHA
• D. Monitor only the new employees, once, at the end of the job

19. An employer has received exposure monitoring results and does not want to hand each affected employee a written notice. Which other way of notifying them does 1926.1101(f)(5) allow?

• A. Telling only the employees' supervisor
• B. Sending the results to the building/facility owner
• C. Keeping the results on file until an employee asks for them
• D. Posting the results in an appropriate location that is accessible to employees

20. An employees' designated representative will observe exposure monitoring inside an area where protective clothing and equipment are required. Under 1926.1101(f)(6)(ii), what applies to the observer?

• A. The observer must watch from outside the area only
• B. The observer shall be provided with and be required to use such clothing and equipment
• C. The observer must bring their own clothing and equipment
• D. The observer may enter without protective clothing if not touching any material