Occupational Health, Safety and Environmental Practices
Occupational Health, Safety and Environmental Practices tests whether you can identify body-shop hazards, control exposure and handle waste without harming people or the environment. Questions often present a task-spraying, welding, jacking, mixing filler-and ask for the correct control, PPE or emergency action.
Core controls
- Apply the hierarchy of control: eliminate, substitute, engineer (ventilation, guards), administrate, then PPE last.
- Read the product label and safety data sheet before using paint, thinner, acid or adhesive.
- Keep welding fume and solvent vapour below exposure limits with local exhaust; ordinary dust masks do not stop solvent vapour.
- Store gas cylinders upright and secured; separate oxygen and fuel gas; never use oil on oxygen fittings.
- Segregate waste: solvent rags in closed metal bins, used filters and paint cans as hazardous waste, scrap metal separately.
- Use wheel chocks and rated stands; never work under a vehicle held only by a jack.
Worked example
A candidate sprays two-pack paint in a small room with the door open. Likelihood of overexposure is high (4) and severity is high (4), giving a risk rating of 16. Controls: move to a booth or add forced ventilation, use an air-fed respirator, keep containers closed and exclude ignition sources. Reassess after controls.
Traps
PPE is not the first control. A dust mask is not a respirator for isocyanates. Water must not be used on electrical or solvent fires. Never decant chemicals into unlabelled bottles.