Pollution Prevention and Source Reduction questions for the ASP
ASP Domain 7: Environmental Management (7.3 Hierarchy of conservation (reduce, reuse, recycle); 7.2 Environmental best practices). 3 free questions below. Every answer quotes and links the source document it comes from.
Sources covered
- Pollution Prevention Act of 1990, 42 U.S.C. 13101-13109 Pollution Prevention Act of 1990
Guidance documents are quoted from the published edition linked above; they are recommendations, not regulations.
Question 1
A plastics facility is completing its annual toxic chemical report. It made 15,000 units in the reporting year and 12,000 units in the previous year. The report needs the ratio of production in the reporting year to production in the previous year. What value should the facility report?
Show answer and source: Pollution Prevention Act of 1990, 42 U.S.C. 13101-13109, PDF p. 3
Answer: B. 1.25
The Pollution Prevention Act asks for the ratio of reporting-year production to previous-year production, so 15,000 divided by 12,000 gives 1.25. The value 0.80 inverts the ratio. The value 0.25 is only the percentage increase written as a decimal. The value 27,000 adds the two years and is not a ratio.
Answer B comes from
Pollution Prevention Act of 1990, 42 U.S.C. 13101-13109, PDF p. 3(opens govinfo.gov in a new tab)“(5) A ratio of production in the reporting year to production in the previous year.”
Question 2
A chemical blending facility must report how much of a toxic chemical entered its waste streams during the year. The plant has no flow meters on one waste line, so no actual measurement exists for that stream. What should the safety professional advise for the report?
Show answer and source: Pollution Prevention Act of 1990, 42 U.S.C. 13101-13109, PDF p. 3
Answer: B. Report a reasonable estimate for that stream based on best engineering judgment
The Pollution Prevention Act says that when actual measurements of the quantity entering waste streams are not readily available, reasonable estimates should be made using best engineering judgment. Omitting the stream, reporting zero, or repeating last year's figure does not follow that approach.
On the job
An EHS manager at a coatings manufacturer prepares an annual toxic chemical release report. One solvent waste line has no flow meter, so no measured quantity exists. Rather than leaving the stream out or entering zero, the manager works with the plant engineer to calculate a reasonable estimate based on best engineering judgment, following the Pollution Prevention Act approach when actual measurements are not readily available.
Study aid, not site-specific safety advice. The official rule controls.
Answer B comes from
Pollution Prevention Act of 1990, 42 U.S.C. 13101-13109, PDF p. 3(opens govinfo.gov in a new tab)“When actual measurements of the quantity of a toxic chemical entering the waste streams are not readily available, reasonable estimates should be made based on best engineering judgment.”
Question 3
A state environmental agency applies for a federal matching grant to run a source reduction program for small businesses. The agency plans to spend $400,000 in a program year. It asks the federal government to supply $300,000 and to have the state and its partners cover the other $100,000. Based on the grant rule, is this funding split allowed?
Show answer and source: Pollution Prevention Act of 1990, 42 U.S.C. 13101-13109, PDF p. 2
Answer: D. No, because federal funds may cover no more than half of the funds made available to the state in a program year
The Pollution Prevention Act caps the federal share of state technical assistance grants at 50 percent of the funds made available to a state each year. A $300,000 request on a $400,000 program is 75 percent. The choices allowing any approved amount, three quarters, or a one-quarter cap all misstate the limit.
On the job
A state program manager at a water quality agency plans a $200,000 source reduction assistance program for small metal finishers. The federal pollution prevention grant may supply no more than 50 percent of the funds made available to the state in a program year. The manager therefore caps the federal request at $100,000 and lines up state and partner funds to cover the remaining $100,000.
Study aid, not site-specific safety advice. The official rule controls.
Answer D comes from
Pollution Prevention Act of 1990, 42 U.S.C. 13101-13109, PDF p. 2(opens govinfo.gov in a new tab)“Federal funds used in any State program under this section shall provide no more than 50 per centum of the funds made available to a State in each year of that State’s participation in the program.”