Asbestos Contractor/Supervisor Practice Exam

Which type of records must be kept for a minimum of 30 years?

1. Employee training records

2. Personal air monitoring records

3. Waste disposal records

4. Asbestos inspection records

The correct answer is: Personal air monitoring records

The requirement to keep personal air monitoring records for a minimum of 30 years is rooted in the regulations surrounding occupational safety and health, particularly those related to hazardous substances like asbestos. These records are critical because they document the exposure levels of employees to asbestos fibers over time, which is vital for assessing long-term health risks associated with asbestos exposure. If an employee develops a medical condition related to asbestos, having access to this historical data can be essential in identifying a correlation between their exposure and health outcomes. Keeping these records for such an extended period ensures that both current and future employees can be monitored, and it supports medical surveillance programs. This long retention period is important as it helps in understanding cumulative exposure effects, which could take years or even decades to manifest in terms of health issues. In contrast, other records, such as employee training records or asbestos inspection records, may not have the same stringent long-term requirement, as they pertain to different aspects of compliance and safety management.