Confined Space: Atmospheric testing

All 15 questions in this test

Every question and its answer choices. The correct answers and explanations appear when you take the test above.

1. In B.C., all workers have been out of a confined space for 30 minutes. What is required before re-entry?

   1. Nothing; the first test still counts
   2. Repeat the pre-entry testing
   3. Only open the hatch a little wider
   4. Ask the last worker how it felt

2. How must test results be recorded when continuous monitoring is used?

   1. At adequate intervals set by the plan
   2. Only if an alarm goes off during the work
   3. Only at the end of the year
   4. They never need to be recorded

3. In B.C., where must non-continuous confined space test results be posted?

   1. At all points of entry to the confined space
   2. Only in the head office filing cabinet, not on site
   3. Nowhere; results are kept by the tester
   4. On the company website within a week

4. Why should a confined space be tested at several levels, top to bottom?

   1. The meter only works when it is moved up and down quickly
   2. Gases can form layers and pockets at different heights
   3. Oxygen is always highest at the very bottom of any space
   4. The law requires exactly ten readings for every test

5. Which three things are typically tested before confined space entry?

   1. Temperature, humidity and noise levels only
   2. Oxygen level, flammable gases and toxic gases
   3. Wind speed, rainfall and time of day
   4. Lighting, floor slope and the width of the door

6. In Ontario, who performs atmospheric tests in a confined space?

   1. A ministry inspector, who must attend every confined space entry in person
   2. The first worker to enter, judging by how the air inside the space smells
   3. A person the employer appoints with adequate knowledge, training and experience
   4. Any worker who happens to be nearby with a gas monitor

7. A confined space has been left unoccupied and unattended over lunch. What must happen before anyone re-enters?

   1. The atmosphere must be tested again
   2. The permit must be thrown away
   3. Nothing, if the morning test was good
   4. The attendant must enter first to check

8. What kind of instruments must be used for atmospheric testing in Ontario?

   1. Instruments borrowed from another site, without checking calibration
   2. The cheapest available meter, since all meters read the same gases
   3. Calibrated instruments in good working order, suited to the hazards
   4. Any instrument, as long as it was bought within the last ten years

9. Your gas monitor alarms while you are working inside a confined space. What should you do?

   1. Leave the space immediately
   2. Turn the monitor off and on
   3. Move deeper into the space
   4. Finish the task, then leave

10. Ideally, when should a gas monitor be calibrated or bump-tested?

    1. Never, since monitors calibrate themselves
    2. Only after it has been dropped in water or mud
    3. Once, when the monitor is first bought new
    4. Just before each use, or as the manufacturer directs

11. From where should the air in a confined space first be tested?

    1. From inside, by the first entrant
    2. From the office, using a webcam
    3. From outside, before anyone enters
    4. From the bottom, after climbing in

12. When is continuous monitoring required under Ontario's rules?

    1. Only when the confined space is larger than a standard shipping container
    2. During hot work where flammable gas may be present, or in an inerted space
    3. Only when the attendant has fewer than five years of experience
    4. Only on weekends, when fewer supervisors are on site to check

13. A combustible gas meter calibrated with pentane is used where methane may be present. What should the user know?

    1. It cannot detect methane at all, so it must never be used in that space
    2. It only works if the space also contains some pentane
    3. It reads every combustible gas exactly the same way as pentane
    4. It reads methane differently, so results need careful interpretation

14. In Ontario's regulation, what is the difference between a "sample" and a "test"?

    1. There is no difference; the two words mean the same thing
    2. A sample is for oxygen only; a test is for toxic gases only
    3. A sample is taken by a lab; a test is done by the attendant
    4. A sample is one reading; a test is a collection of samples

15. In B.C., how close to entry must pre-entry atmospheric testing be completed?

    1. Not more than one week before the job begins
    2. Not more than 24 hours before a worker enters
    3. Not more than 20 minutes before a worker enters
    4. Any time during the same calendar month