OSHA PPE & Lifesaving Equipment Quiz — 29 CFR 1926.95-107 Practice Questions — Page 3 of 4
Free OSHA 30-Hour Construction PPE and lifesaving equipment practice test with 40 realistic scenarios. Hard hats, eye protection, respiratory protection, hearing conservation, fall arrest harness inspection, life jackets, and first aid with 29 CFR 1926 Subpart E references. (Page 3 of 4)
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Q21/ 40
At a construction site 45 minutes from the nearest hospital, a worker suffers a deep laceration from a saw. The first aid kit on site contains basic adhesive bandages and antiseptic wipes — no trauma supplies (tourniquet, pressure bandage, hemostatic gauze). Bleeding is severe. What OSHA requirement applies?
✅ Correct Answer: B
1926.50(c): the employer must ensure the availability of medical personnel for advice and consultation. 1926.50(d)(1): first aid supplies shall be easily accessible. ANSI Z308.1 (incorporated by reference in many state plans and considered industry standard) specifies Class A (basic) and Class B (industrial) kit contents. For construction with laceration/amputation risks, Class B kits including trauma supplies (tourniquets, hemostatic agents, pressure dressings) are appropriate. A basic kit with only adhesive bandages is inadequate for the hazards present.
Q22/ 40
A new worker wears prescription eyeglasses on a construction site. The employer provides standard safety glasses that fit over the prescription glasses, but they fog constantly and the worker removes them to see clearly. What is the employer's obligation?
✅ Correct Answer: B
1926.102(a)(1): the employer shall ensure appropriate eye protection is used. 1926.95(a): PPE shall be provided by the employer at no cost to employees. If standard over-the-glass safety glasses don't work (fogging, discomfort, poor fit), the employer must provide an alternative that works — prescription safety glasses with impact-rated lenses and side shields. OSHA Directive CPL 02-00-158 clarifies that PPE must be properly fitted and compatible. PPE that the worker removes because it's unusable is equivalent to no PPE at all.
Q23/ 40
A construction crew is working in a trench where air monitoring detects 19.0% oxygen (normal air is 20.9%). The foreman says 'it's just a little low — keep working.' Workers feel slightly breathless and one worker's lips look slightly blue. What type of respirator provides protection in an oxygen-deficient atmosphere?
✅ Correct Answer: B
1926.103 references 1910.134(d)(2)(iii): any atmosphere with oxygen below 19.5% is considered oxygen-deficient and immediately dangerous to life or health (IDLH). Air-purifying respirators CANNOT be used in oxygen-deficient atmospheres — they only filter contaminants, they do NOT add oxygen. Only supplied-air respirators (SAR with escape bottle) or SCBA provide breathable air. At 19.0% O₂, workers are already showing signs of hypoxia (breathlessness, cyanosis/bluish lips) — this is an IDLH atmosphere requiring immediate evacuation and supplied-air respirators for any re-entry.
Q24/ 40
An employer on a construction site is implementing a hearing conservation program. Workers are exposed to 92 dBA TWA over 8 hours. The employer provides hearing tests and earplugs. One worker's annual audiogram shows a Standard Threshold Shift (STS) — a 10 dB average hearing loss at 2,000, 3,000 and 4,000 Hz. What must the employer do?
✅ Correct Answer: B
1926.52 references 1910.95(g)(8): if an STS is detected, the employer must: inform the employee in writing within 21 days, ensure the employee uses hearing protectors (if not already), refit/replace protectors for better attenuation, refer for clinical evaluation, and consider revising the hearing conservation program. An STS is a red flag — it indicates the current hearing protection strategy is failing for that worker. Age-related hearing loss is accounted for in the STS calculation using age correction factors.
Q25/ 40
A worker drops a 3-lb sledgehammer from a scaffold platform at 15 feet. It strikes another worker below on the shoulder. The struck worker was wearing a hard hat, safety glasses, and steel-toe boots — but no upper body protection. What PPE might have reduced this injury?
✅ Correct Answer: B
1926.451(h)(1): toeboards shall be installed on scaffolds to protect employees below. 1926.451(h)(2): screens, debris nets, or barricades required where tools may fall. The hierarchy of controls: (1) engineering control — toeboard on the scaffold to prevent tools from falling, (2) administrative control — barricade the area below, (3) PPE — hard hats provide some protection but shoulder injury from a 3-lb hammer is a reminder that PPE alone cannot prevent all injuries. The root cause was the failure of falling object prevention, not the lack of body armor.
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Q26/ 40
A construction site has a portable eyewash station that was filled with water 3 months ago. It's been sitting in direct sunlight. A worker gets cement dust in their eyes and uses the eyewash — the water is warm and has visible algae growth. The worker's eye irritation worsens. What is the violation?
✅ Correct Answer: B
1926.50(g): where the eyes or body of any person may be exposed to injurious corrosive materials, suitable facilities for quick drenching or flushing of the eyes and body shall be provided. ANSI Z358.1 (recognized as industry standard) specifies: flushing fluid must be potable, preserved, and changed per manufacturer's schedule (typically weekly). Algae-contaminated warm water applied to an eye with corneal abrasion (from cement dust) can cause a serious eye infection potentially leading to vision loss. Eyewash stations require documented weekly maintenance.
Q27/ 40
A worker wearing a full-face respirator with organic vapor cartridges is applying spray foam insulation containing isocyanates (MDI). The worker notices a sweet chemical taste inside the mask after 3 hours. What does this indicate?
✅ Correct Answer: B
1926.103 references 1910.134(d)(3)(iii)(B)(1): for substances with adequate warning properties (odor, taste, irritation), the worker can use these as an indicator of cartridge breakthrough. A sweet chemical taste inside the mask is a classic sign of organic vapor cartridge breakthrough — the sorbent is saturated. Isocyanates are particularly dangerous: they are respiratory sensitizers (single high exposure can cause lifelong asthma) and have poor warning properties at low concentrations. The worker must leave the area, replace cartridges, and verify proper fit. For isocyanates, supplied-air respirators are generally preferred due to their poor warning properties.
Q28/ 40
A construction worker handling rebar is wearing standard leather work gloves with no cut-resistance rating. A piece of rebar with a sharp burr slices through the glove and into the worker's palm, requiring 12 stitches. Could this injury have been prevented by proper PPE selection?
✅ Correct Answer: B
1926.95(a): the employer must assess workplace hazards and select appropriate PPE. 1926.21(b)(2): the employer must train employees to recognize hazards. Sharp rebar burrs are a well-known construction cut hazard. Standard leather work gloves offer minimal cut protection (ANSI Cut Level A1-A2). For rebar handling, ANSI Cut Level A3-A5 gloves with nitrile or polyurethane-coated palms provide substantially better cut resistance while maintaining grip. The employer failed the hazard assessment by not identifying the cut severity and selecting appropriate hand protection.
Q29/ 40
A construction company issues the same model of hard hat to all employees. One employee notices the suspension inside their hard hat is adjusted to the largest setting, causing the hat to sit low on their head and wobble. They add a baseball cap underneath the hard hat for a better fit. Is this acceptable?
✅ Correct Answer: B
1926.100(a) requires protective helmets meet ANSI Z89.1. ANSI Z89.1 requires hard hats to be worn as designed — the suspension system must maintain a minimum clearance of 1.25 inches between the head and the shell. A baseball cap under the hard hat (1) reduces this clearance, (2) interferes with the suspension straps, and (3) can redirect impact forces incorrectly. If the hard hat is too large, the employer must provide a properly sized one with the suspension adjusted correctly. Manufacturer-approved accessories (sweatbands, winter liners) are designed to not interfere with the protection system.
Q30/ 40
An employer provides fall arrest harnesses and 6-foot shock-absorbing lanyards to all workers on a 30-foot roof. A 350-lb worker asks for a harness rated for their weight. The standard harness is rated 130-310 lbs. The employer says 'you'll have to lose weight or not work at height.' Is this legally acceptable?
✅ Correct Answer: B
1926.502(d)(16)(ii): PFAS must limit maximum arresting force to 1,800 lbs. However, the equipment must be rated for the user's actual weight. Harnesses and lanyards rated for 400+ lbs are commercially available (e.g., ANSI Z359.6 capacity range up to 420 lbs). 1926.95(a) requires the employer to provide PPE. The employer cannot simply exclude a worker from work because standard PPE doesn't fit — they must provide appropriately rated equipment. This is also a potential ADA/disability accommodation issue. The 'lose weight' response is both unsafe and discriminatory.