Heat Illness Prevention and First Response practice questions for the CHST exam
CHST5 Domain 2: Emergency Preparedness, Incident Investigation, and Response (K2.7 Basic first aid or medical needs; heat illness). 3 free questions below. Every answer quotes and links the regulation paragraph it rests on.
- NIOSH, Criteria for a Recommended Standard: Occupational Exposure to Heat and Hot Environments (Pub. 2016-106): NIOSH Heat Criteria Document
Text pulled from the eCFR, current as of .
A contractor is replacing roof membrane on a warehouse during a summer heat wave. Engineering controls cannot fully reduce the heat, and the daily forecast is unpredictable. The safety technician is told that the crew can choose when the heaviest tear-off work is done each day. Which scheduling approach is consistent with the guidance on limiting exposure time and temperature?
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Answer: B. Schedule the heaviest tear-off for early morning or late afternoon, and rotate hot tasks onto alternate rather than successive days where possible
The guidance says to schedule hot jobs for the cooler part of the day (early morning, late afternoon, or night shift) and/or on alternate rather than successive days. Midday work or waiting for symptoms does the opposite of limiting exposure proactively.
“When possible, schedule hot jobs for the cooler part of the day (early morning, late afternoon, or night shift) and/or schedule hot jobs on alternate rather than successive days.”
A site safety technician is setting up a heat program for a crew installing roofing during July. The crew will work on an exposed deck, and the technician wants environmental readings that represent what the workers actually experience. Which approach matches the guidance?
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Answer: D. Place a WBGT monitor at, or as close as possible to, the area where the workers are exposed
The guidance calls for monitoring environmental heat exposures with a WBGT monitor at, or as close as possible to, the area where workers are exposed. An airport reading or a trailer reading does not represent the roof deck conditions, and subjective reports are not a substitute for measurement.
“Monitor environmental heat exposures during the hottest months with a WBGT monitor at (or as close as possible to) the area where the workers are exposed.”
A roofing contractor is moving a laborer who has spent the last three years working in an indoor warehouse onto a crew that will tear off shingles in midsummer. The safety technician is setting up the medical screening process for this transfer. Which assumption should the program make about this worker's heat status until it is shown otherwise?
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Answer: D. The worker is not acclimatized to work in hot environments
The guidance says workers transferring from jobs without heat exposure should undergo a preplacement medical evaluation and, unless demonstrated otherwise, be assumed not acclimatized. Time with the company does not matter; what counts is prior heat exposure. Waiting for symptoms contradicts the preplacement approach.
“All new workers or workers who are transferring from jobs that do not involve exposure to heat should undergo a preplacement medical evaluation. Unless demonstrated otherwise, it should be assumed that these workers are not acclimatized to work in hot environments.”
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