FEMA IS-5.A: An Introduction to Hazardous Materials – Questions and Answers

FEMA IS-5.A intends to give a comprehensive introduction to hazardous chemicals that can serve as a basis for more focused disaster and prevention-based study in the future. 

There are five Units in the course, and no prior understanding of the subject is necessary or assumed.

List of Common FEMA IS-5.A Questions:

Click on the specific question to see the correct answer:

1. Sensory clues to the possible presence of hazardous materials in water include?
2. In the NFPA 704 labeling system, a rating of 4 in any quadrant corresponds to?
3. The primary hazard associated with most flammable liquids is?
4. It is difficult and sometimes impossible to purify contaminated groundwater. True or False?
5. The local role in reducing public risks from hazardous materials includes?
6. Standard approaches to waste disposal are generally regulated and managed by the?
7. The body has very efficient internal defenses which can remove any quantity of an unwanted substance? True or False?
8. The tendency of chemicals to become more concentrated as they move up the food chain is known as?
9. A chemical that, in relatively small amounts, produces injury when it comes in contact with skin tissue is known as?
10. The success of good site operations and the ability of employees to respond during emergencies is?
11. The basic approaches to cleaning contaminated soil include?
12. The Federal agency primarily responsible for protecting our environment from contamination by hazardous materials releases is?
13. Once approved, an Emergency Operations Plan should never be revised, since this would create potential confusion in responding agencies. True or False?
14. Formal mutual aid agreements with surrounding jurisdictions are seldom, if ever needed, since everyone is ready to pitch in when an incident occurs?
15. By reading the placard on a taker bearing hazardous materials, you can find out?
16. Permissible exposure limits are levels of exposures mandated by?
17. An industry’s smokestack is an example of what type of source?
18.  If you encounter a suspicious substance, you should?
19. The five phases of a hazardous material’s life does not include production, transportation, storage, elimination, and disposal. True or False?
20. Which Federal law is intended to assure, so far as possible, safe working conditions?
21. Health effects resulting from contact with a hazardous substance over a long period of time is called?
22. Decontamination is needed in order to?
23. The key components of a complete local plan include a basic plan, supporting annexes, and implementing procedures. The supporting annexes typically include?
24. Under existing laws, States do not have broad authority to control how hazardous materials are stored, used, transported, and disposed of within their borders. True or False?
25. You have just learned that a chemical you work with is a mutagen. What effect does this chemical have?
26. A person works every day with a toxic substance, but does not take protective measures. The individual will experience what type of exposure?
27. The EPCRA grants citizens the right to obtain information on hazardous materials in their community?
28. In-place sheltering is never an appropriate option in an accident involving hazardous materials?
29. The Federal law designed to regulate hazardous waste ‘from cradle to grave’ is?
30. One benefit of a sound community plan to deal with a hazardous materials emergency is?
31. When treating a household incident involving exposure to a poison, your most reliable source of advice and expertise is?
32. Besides the LEPC, what local agencies may maintain specific information on industries in your community that use, store, or generate EHS-listed hazardous materials?
33. The Federal agency responsible for regulating interstate shipments of hazardous materials is?
34. Results of Commodity Flow Surveys can be obtained from?
35. Existing landfills are generally considered sufficient to serve as the sole means of disposing of the Nation’s waste for the foreseeable future?
36. The chemical agent or hazardous material that interferes with the body’s ability to transfer oxygen to the cells is
37. A primary purpose of conducting a hazardous materials exercise is to find out?
38. Which Federal agency provides training, resource information and technical assistance to States to help them prepare for hazardous materials emergencies?
39. The analysis of a situation to determine the level of risk inherent in that situation is called?
40. A Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) includes information on?
41. The presence of hazardous materials can always be detected by the sense of smell?
42. Under EPCRA, Local Emergency Planning Committees (LEPCs) are charged with the responsibility to?
43. The EPCRA grants citizens the right to obtain information on hazardous materials in their community.
44. The code OXY in the bottom white quadrant of a label conforming to NFPA 704 indicates that?
45. What is the primary purpose of a Hazardous Materials Response Team?
46. A toxic accident occurs in your neighborhood. Several adults, teenagers, and small children are present. Which group, if any, would likely be most severely affected?
47. A person whose skin is coated with a toxic substance gives his/her contaminated clothing to another individual. This likely will result in what is called?
48. What is the recommended minimum number of personnel needed to manage a hazardous materials incident safely?
49. Under what circumstances are judges likely to take immediate action to halt pollution before a violation of the law has been proven in court?
50. If you are caught outdoors in the vicinity of a hazardous materials incident, should you try to move away from the release?

What are the IS-5.A Units?

The course is divided into five Units, and the same are outlined below.

Unit 1 – Health and Environmental Regulations.

This unit discusses the responsibilities of the federal, state, tribal, and municipal governments in decreasing hazardous materials hazards, as well as the essential aspects of crucial federal laws.

Unit 2 – Systems for Identifying Hazardous Materials.

This unit examines the two primary hazardous materials identification methods used in the United States today. It also describes how communities should identify terrorist use of harmful chemical products such as Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD).

Unit 3 – Identifying Hazardous Materials.

This unit presents an overview of typical places for these materials and describes methods for detecting specific chemicals and what health consequences exist in these areas.

Unit 4 – Human Health and Hazardous Materials.

This unit provides many of the fundamental concepts used to describe hazardous materials issues and explains how dangerous materials enter and travel through the body and the environment.

Unit 5 – Preparing for Hazardous Materials Incidents.

This unit describes what local communities may do to improve their emergency readiness in the event of a hazardous materials occurrence of any scale. Moreover, it also highlights procedures people may take to safeguard themselves in the event of a hazardous materials spill.

What is the Need for the IS-5.A Course?

The scope of IS-5.A course includes the advancement in waste management planning and implementation of hazardous and radioactive wastes.

Regulating the ever-increasing amounts of radioactive wastes has become critical. Inadequate waste management has resulted in pollution of the environment, including water, soil, and the atmosphere, and is negatively impacting public health. The direct health consequences of waste mishandling are widely established and may be seen clearly in impoverished nations.

The successful enhancement of waste management programs protects the environment and public health from the harmful impacts of hazardous and radioactive wastes.

Purpose and Goal of the IS-5.A Test

By the end of the course, students should be able to:

• Explain the responsibilities of the federal, state, tribal, and municipal governments in lowering hazardous materials hazards via Health and Environmental Regulations
• Discuss the two most common hazardous materials identification methods in the United States
• Identify potential terrorist targets for the use of toxic industrial chemicals (TIC) as Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)
• Identify frequent sites for hazardous materials and how to assess their possible health consequences
• Describe the fundamental terminologies associated with hazardous material exposures
• Interpret and read the materials safety data sheet (MSDS)
• Describe how hazardous materials enter the body and pollute the environment
• Describe what communities may improve their emergency response to hazardous materials occurrences
• Determine what procedures people and communities may take to safeguard themselves in the event of a hazardous materials leak

How to Apply for the IS-5.A Test?

• Register and apply for a Student Identification Number (SID)
• Choose IS-5.A from the provided course list
• Go through the course materials by selecting one of the options on the website
• Choose the “Take Final Exam Online” option (on each Course Overview page)
• Enter with your SID and other Student Information
• Answer the exam questions thoroughly and submit your answers