Free Certified Hazardous Materials Practitioner (CHMP®) Practice Questions

Sample Practice Questions

Try these 10 sample questions from the Certified Hazardous Materials Practitioner (CHMP®) practice bank. Each includes the answer and explanation. Continue with the interactive practice above to review the full question set.

1. 1Which federal law gives EPA authority to control hazardous waste through generation, transportation, treatment, storage, and disposal?

   1. A. The Clean Air Act (CAA)
   2. B. The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)
   3. C. The Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)
   4. D. The Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA)

   Answer: B

   Explanation: EPA states, "RCRA gives EPA the authority to control hazardous waste". RCRA covers the specified generation-to-disposal lifecycle; the other statutes address air emissions, chemicals in commerce, or emergency planning and community information.

   Reference: Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Overview — Opening overview paragraph

2. 2A covered cleanup project adds drum opening to a workplan that previously involved only surveying. The HSP has no analysis of drum-opening hazards. What must be added to address 29 CFR 1910.120(b)(4)(ii)(A)?

   1. A. An analysis covering the previous surveying task without evaluating drum opening
   2. B. A generic hazard checklist without assessing the new site operation
   3. C. A safety and health risk or hazard analysis for the new task
   4. D. An assessment postponed until the crew has completed the new operation

   Answer: C

   Explanation: The HSP must include "A safety and health risk or hazard analysis for each site task and operation found in the workplan." The added drum-opening operation therefore needs its own assessment. Evaluating only surveying or using a generic checklist omits that task; waiting until after the operation fails to plan its protection.

   Reference: 29 CFR 1910.120 — Hazardous waste operations and emergency response — 29 CFR 1910.120(b)(4)(ii)(A)

3. 3Under 40 CFR 264.13(b)(1), what must a facility’s written waste analysis plan explain about its selected analytical parameters?

   1. A. Why the parameters require the least laboratory expense
   2. B. Why the parameters were selected to provide sufficient waste-property information
   3. C. Why every parameter must be tested with an identical instrument
   4. D. Why analysis of a single constituent replaces all waste identification

   Answer: B

   Explanation: The plan must specify the parameters and "the rationale for the selection of these parameters". The regulation ties that rationale to sufficient information for compliant waste management, not price or a universal single-constituent test.

   Reference: 40 CFR 264.13 — General waste analysis — 40 CFR 264.13(b)(1)

4. 4Which measure is an engineering control for reducing a cleanup equipment operator’s exposure to hazardous materials?

   1. A. Providing hazard-awareness training before equipment operation
   2. B. Scheduling extra safety briefings during the shift
   3. C. Requiring a protective coverall during equipment operation
   4. D. Using a pressurized protective equipment cab

   Answer: D

   Explanation: OSHA identifies engineering-control examples including "the use of pressurized cabs or control booths on equipment". The cab changes the physical exposure barrier; briefings and training are administrative measures and coveralls are PPE.

   Reference: 29 CFR 1910.120 — Hazardous waste operations and emergency response — Note to 29 CFR 1910.120(g)(1)(i)

5. 5What program-management function does EPA’s hazardous waste manifest system perform for off-site shipments?

   1. A. It authorizes the receiving facility to construct new treatment units.
   2. B. It certifies the waste’s suitability for every disposal technology.
   3. C. It tracks waste from generator departure to the off-site receiving facility.
   4. D. It certifies that every constituent in the shipment has been destroyed.

   Answer: C

   Explanation: EPA describes the manifest system as "designed to track hazardous waste from the time it leaves the generator facility where it was produced, until it reaches the off-site waste management facility". It documents movement and receipt, rather than permitting units, certifying suitability for every treatment, or proving destruction.

   Reference: Hazardous Waste Manifest System — Opening overview

6. 6Which federal statute established Superfund authority to respond to releases or threatened releases of hazardous substances at abandoned or uncontrolled waste sites?

   1. A. Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)
   2. B. Clean Water Act (CWA)
   3. C. Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA)
   4. D. Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)

   Answer: C

   Explanation: EPA explains, "The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), commonly known as Superfund, was enacted by Congress on December 11, 1980." CERCLA provides the described release-response authority; RCRA’s ongoing waste-management system is a different program.

   Reference: Superfund: CERCLA Overview — Opening paragraph

7. 7A cleanup crew is ready to begin site work but has not been briefed on the site-specific safety and health plan. What action satisfies the required timing of the HSP briefing?

   1. A. Brief the crew before initiating site activity.
   2. B. Brief the crew after the first day’s exposure results arrive.
   3. C. Wait to brief the crew until a site emergency occurs.
   4. D. Use the next annual refresher session for the site briefing.

   Answer: A

   Explanation: The HSP must provide for "pre-entry briefings to be held prior to initiating any site activity". A later monitoring report, emergency, or annual refresher does not meet this pre-entry timing.

   Reference: 29 CFR 1910.120 — Hazardous waste operations and emergency response — 29 CFR 1910.120(b)(4)(iii)

8. 8Which sampling-method provision in a waste analysis plan complies with 40 CFR 264.13(b)(3)?

   1. A. Specify an Appendix I method or an equivalent method that obtains a representative sample.
   2. B. Specify any convenient method without evaluating whether the sample is representative.
   3. C. Specify only a visual inspection whenever a laboratory has previously analyzed similar waste.
   4. D. Specify a method based solely on the smallest possible sample volume.

   Answer: A

   Explanation: The plan must identify "The sampling method which will be used to obtain a representative sample of the waste to be analyzed." The rule allows an Appendix I method or an equivalent sampling method; convenience or small volume alone does not establish representativeness.

   Reference: 40 CFR 264.13 — General waste analysis — 40 CFR 264.13(b)(3)(i)–(ii)

9. 9A cleanup employer proposes employee rotation solely to comply with a chemical airborne PEL under 29 CFR 1910.120. Which statement correctly applies paragraph (g)(1)(iii)?

   1. A. Rotation can replace feasible engineering controls for any chemical.
   2. B. Rotation is not an allowed means of chemical PEL compliance under this provision.
   3. C. Rotation is required whenever a chemical has no skin notation.
   4. D. Rotation removes the need to determine each employee’s exposure.

   Answer: B

   Explanation: OSHA states, "The employer shall not implement a schedule of employee rotation as a means of compliance with permissible exposure limits or dose limits" apart from its specified ionizing-radiation exception. This is a chemical exposure, so that exception does not apply.

   Reference: 29 CFR 1910.120 — Hazardous waste operations and emergency response — 29 CFR 1910.120(g)(1)(iii)

10. 10A company develops a hazardous waste compliance program for facilities in EPA-authorized states. How should it treat the relationship between federal and state RCRA requirements?

    1. A. Check applicable state requirements because they can be more stringent than federal requirements.
    2. B. Apply federal requirements alone because authorization eliminates state-specific provisions.
    3. C. Assume authorized state requirements must always be less stringent than federal requirements.
    4. D. Treat federal requirements as voluntary whenever a state program is authorized.

    Answer: A

    Explanation: EPA states, "State RCRA programs must be at least as stringent as the federal requirements, but states can adopt more stringent requirements as well." Program planning must therefore account for applicable authorized-state provisions rather than assume a federal-only checklist is sufficient.

    Reference: State Authorization under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) — About State Authorization