Free EPA Lead-Based Paint Inspector Certification Exam Practice Questions

Sample Practice Questions

Try these 10 sample questions from the EPA Lead-Based Paint Inspector Certification Exam practice bank. Each includes the answer and explanation. Continue with the interactive practice above to review the full question set.

1. 1An inspector is testing painted wood trim in a 1949 dwelling and must decide whether a coating meets the federal definition of lead-based paint on a surface-loading basis. At or above what lead loading does that definition apply?

   1. A. 1.0 milligram per square centimeter
   2. B. 0.5 milligram per square centimeter
   3. C. 2.5 milligrams per square centimeter
   4. D. 4.0 milligrams per square centimeter

   Answer: A

   Explanation: EPA defines the term by loading and by weight: "Lead-based paint means paint or other surface coatings that contain lead equal to or in excess of 1.0 milligrams per square centimeter or more than 0.5 percent by weight." The loading figure traces to the 1971 statute, which set the threshold "at 1 mg/cm2, or a weight concentration on the basis of a weight of lead per weight of paint, at 0.5% by weight". The 0.5 figure is the weight-percent criterion, not a loading; 2.5 and 4.0 mg/cm2 are values used when selecting locations for substrate correction, not definitional thresholds.

   Reference: PART 745—LEAD-BASED PAINT POISONING PREVENTION IN CERTAIN RESIDENTIAL STRUCTURES — 40 CFR 745.223, definition of lead-based paint

2. 2An employer must decide whether the OSHA lead in construction standard's exposure assessment obligations are triggered for a crew removing paint from a bridge. At what airborne lead concentration, as an 8-hour time-weighted average without regard to respirator use, is the action level set?

   1. A. 30 micrograms per cubic meter of air
   2. B. 50 micrograms per cubic meter of air
   3. C. 200 micrograms per cubic meter of air
   4. D. 500 micrograms per cubic meter of air

   Answer: A

   Explanation: The standard defines the term: "Action level means employee exposure, without regard to the use of respirators, to an airborne concentration of lead of 30 micrograms per cubic meter of air (30 µg/m 3 ) calculated as an 8-hour time-weighted average (TWA)." Fifty micrograms per cubic meter is the permissible exposure limit; two hundred is the level above which protective clothing must be supplied daily rather than weekly; five hundred is a presumed exposure level for certain listed tasks.

   Reference: Appendix A to § 1926.62—Substance Data Sheet for Occupational Exposure to Lead — 29 CFR 1926.62(b), definition of action level

3. 3A property owner asks why paint applied to a bedroom wall in 1980 is unlikely to be lead-based paint by the federal definition. What lead content limit did the 1978 federal ban place on residential paint, expressed as a share of dry weight?

   1. A. 0.06 percent
   2. B. 0.009 percent
   3. C. 0.50 percent
   4. D. 1.00 percent

   Answer: A

   Explanation: HUD records the 1978 limit as follows: after the ban, "0.06 percent (600 parts per million) lead by dry weight" was the maximum permitted content. The 0.009 percent figure is the later Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act limit; 0.50 percent is the 1972 level and the present weight-percent criterion for lead-based paint; 1.00 percent corresponds to no federal paint limit.

   Reference: Hud Ch 01 Introduction — Chapter 1, Section II.B.1, Lead in Residential Paint

4. 4An inspector is listing testing combinations in a 1935 house and encounters a stair handrail finished in clear varnish over bare wood, with no pigmented paint. How should that finish be treated for inspection purposes?

   1. A. As a surface coating that must be tested, because varnish falls within the definition
   2. B. As an untested substrate, because clear finishes contain no pigment that can bear lead
   3. C. As a component replaced after 1977, because clear varnish was not sold with lead before that
   4. D. As a non-paint fixture, because handrails are hardware rather than painted components

   Answer: A

   Explanation: HUD's definition is explicit that the term extends past pigmented paint: "Surface coatings include paint, shellac, varnish, or any other coating, including wallpaper that" covers painted surfaces. A clear coating is therefore a testing combination like any other. Nothing in the chapter exempts unpigmented finishes, treats handrails as hardware, or supplies a presumption about the date a clear finish was applied.

   Reference: Hud Ch 07 Inspection — Chapter 7, Section III, Definitions, item (b)

5. 5A certified inspector is asked to state the federal record retention period for the inspection reports and plans that the lead-based paint activities work practice standards require. For how long must the certified firm or individual who prepared a report keep it?

   1. A. No fewer than 3 years
   2. B. No fewer than 5 years
   3. C. No fewer than 10 years
   4. D. No fewer than 30 years

   Answer: A

   Explanation: The recordkeeping paragraph provides: "All reports or plans required in this section shall be maintained by the certified firm or individual who prepared the report for no fewer than 3 years. The certified firm or individual also shall provide copies of these reports to the building owner who contracted for its services." Thirty years is the OSHA retention period for objective exposure data, not the retention period for lead-based paint activities reports.

   Reference: PART 745—LEAD-BASED PAINT POISONING PREVENTION IN CERTAIN RESIDENTIAL STRUCTURES — 40 CFR 745.227(i)

6. 6Following an abatement, a certified inspector performs the post-abatement visual inspection and finds visible dust and paint debris remaining in one room. What must happen before the post-abatement testing procedures continue?

   1. A. Those conditions must be eliminated before testing procedures continue
   2. B. Those conditions must be photographed and noted in the abatement report
   3. C. Those conditions must be sampled with a wipe to quantify the residual lead
   4. D. Those conditions must be reported to EPA within twenty-four hours of discovery

   Answer: A

   Explanation: The rule provides: "Following an abatement, a visual inspection shall be performed to determine if deteriorated painted surfaces and/or visible amounts of dust, debris or residue are still present." If such conditions are present, "these conditions must be eliminated prior to the continuation of the post-abatement testing procedures." Documenting, sampling or notifying does not substitute for removing the visible contamination first.

   Reference: PART 745—LEAD-BASED PAINT POISONING PREVENTION IN CERTAIN RESIDENTIAL STRUCTURES — 40 CFR 745.227(e)(8)(i)

7. 7A client asks an inspector which exposure route accounts for most childhood lead poisoning in the United States today. Which route should the inspector identify?

   1. A. Ingestion of lead-contaminated settled dust through ordinary hand-to-mouth activity
   2. B. Ingestion of lead-based paint chips taken directly from deteriorated painted surfaces
   3. C. Ingestion of lead that has leached into drinking water from lead service lines
   4. D. Inhalation of airborne lead released by nearby smelters and other industrial sources

   Answer: A

   Explanation: HUD states that children are poisoned "dust by normal hand-to-mouth and toy-to-mouth activity" and that the belief that a child must eat paint chips to be poisoned is unfounded. Drinking water, point sources such as smelters, and paint chips are all real pathways that HUD lists, but HUD identifies contaminated settled dust ingested by hand-to-mouth transfer as the most common cause.

   Reference: Hud Ch 01 Introduction — Chapter 1, Section II.B, Causes of Childhood Lead Poisoning

8. 8A crew is working an ordinary 8-hour shift removing lead-based paint. What airborne lead concentration may the employer not allow an employee to be exposed to when averaged over that period?

   1. A. Greater than 50 micrograms per cubic meter of air
   2. B. Greater than 30 micrograms per cubic meter of air
   3. C. Greater than 100 micrograms per cubic meter of air
   4. D. Greater than 400 micrograms per cubic meter of air

   Answer: A

   Explanation: The permissible exposure limit provides: "The employer shall assure that no employee is exposed to lead at concentrations greater than fifty micrograms per cubic meter of air (50 µg/m 3 ) averaged over an 8-hour period." Thirty micrograms per cubic meter is the action level that triggers monitoring and medical surveillance duties, not the exposure ceiling; the figure 400 appears in the standard only as the numerator of the formula that reduces the allowable exposure on longer shifts.

   Reference: Appendix A to § 1926.62—Substance Data Sheet for Occupational Exposure to Lead — 29 CFR 1926.62(c)(1)

9. 9An inspector is asked when the federal limit on lead in consumer paint dropped from 0.06 percent to 0.009 percent of the weight of the dried paint film. On what date did that lower limit take effect?

   1. A. August 14, 2009
   2. B. February 27, 1978
   3. C. September 1, 2010
   4. D. January 5, 2001

   Answer: A

   Explanation: The Consumer Product Safety Commission ban states that "0.06 percent is reduced to 0.009 percent effective August 14, 2009 as mandated by Congress in section 101(f) of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008". February 27, 1978 is the manufacturing date from which the original ban applies; September 1, 2010 is the date after which recognized test kits must meet both response criteria; January 5, 2001 is a Federal Register amendment date for the EPA hazard standards.

   Reference: PART 1303—BAN OF LEAD-CONTAINING PAINT AND CERTAIN CONSUMER PRODUCTS BEARING LEAD-CONTAINING PAINT — 16 CFR 1303.1(a)

10. 10An inspector finds wallpaper covering a plaster wall in a 1948 dwelling and has no building records showing what lies beneath it. How should the inspector treat that wall?

    1. A. Assume the wallpaper covers paint and include the wall as a testing combination
    2. B. Assume the wallpaper was applied to bare plaster and omit the wall from testing
    3. C. Record the wall as inconclusive without taking a reading, pending owner records
    4. D. Presume the wall positive for lead-based paint without taking any reading at all

    Answer: A

    Explanation: HUD directs that painted surfaces include paint covered by wallpaper and that "Wallpaper should be assumed to cover paint unless building records or physical evidence" indicate no paint is present. Absent such records or evidence, the wall is listed and tested rather than omitted; inconclusive is a classification for a reading that was actually taken, and presuming a positive result without a reading is a choice the client must approve, not a default for wallpapered surfaces.

    Reference: Hud Ch 07 Inspection — Chapter 7, How to Do It, item 8