CWEA LAB ANALYST FINAL EXAM
PRACTICE QUESTIONS AND THEIR
ACCURATE ANSWERS | NEW
DOCUMENT!
Approval Authority - Answer The agency determining whether a pretreatment program contains
the necessary elements to meet the intent of the Act
Atomic Weight - Answer The sum of the number of protons and the number of neutrons in the
nucleus of an atom; atomic weights of elements are found on the periodic table
Base - Answer A compound which liberates hydroxide ions and have a pH above 7
Biochemical Oxygen Demands (BOD) - Answer The quality of oxygen utilized in the
biochemical oxidation of organic matter under standard lab procedures for 5 days at 20 °C,
usually expressed as a concentration (mg/L). BOD measurements are used to indicate the organic
"strength" of wastewater
Biological Treament - Answer A waste treatment process by which bacteria and other
microorganisms break down complex organic or inorganic (ie ammonia) materials into simple,
nontoxic, more stable compounds
Categorical Industrial User (CIU) - Answer An industrial user (refer to IU) that is conducting
processes subject to a categorical standard promulgated by the US EPA
centrifugal pumps - Answer pumps using centrifugal force to convey liquid. Discharge will vary
according to inlet and discharge pressure
,Pretreatment standard - Answer any regulation promulgated by the EPA in accordance with sec
307(b)(c) of the CWA, applying to a specific category of IU and providing limitations on the
introduction of pollutants into POTWs. This term includes BMPs, the prohibited discharge
standards under 40 CFR 403.5 and local limits [per 40 CFR 403.3 (j)]
Precipitation - Answer part of a treatment process that takes dissolved pollutants out of solution
to form a precipitate that can be removed by filtration or settling
Printed Circuit Board - Answer A circuit for electronic apparatus made by depositing conductive
material, usually copper, on an insulating surface
Process- Inhibition - Answer The concentration of a pollutant that will reduce the effectiveness
or efficiency of a biological treatment process in the POTWs
Publicly Owned Treatment Works (POTWs) - Answer A treatment works which is owned by a
state, municipality, city, town, special sewer district, or other publicly owned and financed entity,
as opposed to a privately owned (industrial) treatment facility.
Includes any devices and systems used in the storage, treatment, recycling, and reclamation of
municipal sewage of industrial wastes of liquid nature. Also include sewers, pipes and other
conveyances only if they convey wastewater to a POTW treatment plant. The term can also mean
the municipality (public entity) which has jurisdiction over the indirect discharges to and the
discharges from such a treatment works
Settling - Answer The treatment process by which setteable or floatable solids are removed from
wastewater by gravity separation in a tank or other vessel
Chain-of- Custody - Answer A legal record (which may be a series of records) of each person
who had possession of an environmental sample, from the person releasing the sample, to the
person who collected the sample, to the person who analyzed the sample in the laboratory, to the
person who witnessed the disposal of the sample
, Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) - Answer The amount of oxygen (expressed in mg/L)
consumed from the oxidation of pollutants during a specific test
As such, COD is a measure of the oxygen-consuming capacity of the pollutant present in
wastewater. The results of the COD test are not necessarily related to the BOD, because the
chemical oxidant responsible for utilizing the oxygen may react with substances which bacteria
do no stabilize.
Cipolletti Water - Answer A trapezoidal sharp-crested weir for measurement of liquid discharge
in open channels
Clean Water Act (CWA) - Answer Public law (PL 92-500) enacted in 1972, which sets the
framework for the imposition of industrial wastewater control programs on municipalities and
the regulation of industrial users.
CWA Sections 307(b)(c) sets forth the authority for the US EPA to est pretreatment standards for
existing and new sources discharging industrial wastewater to publicly owned treatment works
(POTWs)
Composite Samples - Answer A collection of individual samples obtained at regular intervals,
based either on flow or time. (The individual samples are combined proportionally)
Concentration Based Discharge Limits - Answer Allowable concentration of a pollutant in
wastewater discharges, usually expressed as a concentration (mg/L) in the discharge
Confined Space - Answer A space, which has limited openings for entry/exit, has unfavorable
natural ventilation which could contain or produce dangerous air contaminants (or create an
atmosphere of oxygen deprivation), and which is not intended for continuous employee
occupations. A permit may be required under OSHA to enter a confined space
Control Authority - Answer The agency responsible for implementing a pretreatment program
PRACTICE QUESTIONS AND THEIR
ACCURATE ANSWERS | NEW
DOCUMENT!
Approval Authority - Answer The agency determining whether a pretreatment program contains
the necessary elements to meet the intent of the Act
Atomic Weight - Answer The sum of the number of protons and the number of neutrons in the
nucleus of an atom; atomic weights of elements are found on the periodic table
Base - Answer A compound which liberates hydroxide ions and have a pH above 7
Biochemical Oxygen Demands (BOD) - Answer The quality of oxygen utilized in the
biochemical oxidation of organic matter under standard lab procedures for 5 days at 20 °C,
usually expressed as a concentration (mg/L). BOD measurements are used to indicate the organic
"strength" of wastewater
Biological Treament - Answer A waste treatment process by which bacteria and other
microorganisms break down complex organic or inorganic (ie ammonia) materials into simple,
nontoxic, more stable compounds
Categorical Industrial User (CIU) - Answer An industrial user (refer to IU) that is conducting
processes subject to a categorical standard promulgated by the US EPA
centrifugal pumps - Answer pumps using centrifugal force to convey liquid. Discharge will vary
according to inlet and discharge pressure
,Pretreatment standard - Answer any regulation promulgated by the EPA in accordance with sec
307(b)(c) of the CWA, applying to a specific category of IU and providing limitations on the
introduction of pollutants into POTWs. This term includes BMPs, the prohibited discharge
standards under 40 CFR 403.5 and local limits [per 40 CFR 403.3 (j)]
Precipitation - Answer part of a treatment process that takes dissolved pollutants out of solution
to form a precipitate that can be removed by filtration or settling
Printed Circuit Board - Answer A circuit for electronic apparatus made by depositing conductive
material, usually copper, on an insulating surface
Process- Inhibition - Answer The concentration of a pollutant that will reduce the effectiveness
or efficiency of a biological treatment process in the POTWs
Publicly Owned Treatment Works (POTWs) - Answer A treatment works which is owned by a
state, municipality, city, town, special sewer district, or other publicly owned and financed entity,
as opposed to a privately owned (industrial) treatment facility.
Includes any devices and systems used in the storage, treatment, recycling, and reclamation of
municipal sewage of industrial wastes of liquid nature. Also include sewers, pipes and other
conveyances only if they convey wastewater to a POTW treatment plant. The term can also mean
the municipality (public entity) which has jurisdiction over the indirect discharges to and the
discharges from such a treatment works
Settling - Answer The treatment process by which setteable or floatable solids are removed from
wastewater by gravity separation in a tank or other vessel
Chain-of- Custody - Answer A legal record (which may be a series of records) of each person
who had possession of an environmental sample, from the person releasing the sample, to the
person who collected the sample, to the person who analyzed the sample in the laboratory, to the
person who witnessed the disposal of the sample
, Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) - Answer The amount of oxygen (expressed in mg/L)
consumed from the oxidation of pollutants during a specific test
As such, COD is a measure of the oxygen-consuming capacity of the pollutant present in
wastewater. The results of the COD test are not necessarily related to the BOD, because the
chemical oxidant responsible for utilizing the oxygen may react with substances which bacteria
do no stabilize.
Cipolletti Water - Answer A trapezoidal sharp-crested weir for measurement of liquid discharge
in open channels
Clean Water Act (CWA) - Answer Public law (PL 92-500) enacted in 1972, which sets the
framework for the imposition of industrial wastewater control programs on municipalities and
the regulation of industrial users.
CWA Sections 307(b)(c) sets forth the authority for the US EPA to est pretreatment standards for
existing and new sources discharging industrial wastewater to publicly owned treatment works
(POTWs)
Composite Samples - Answer A collection of individual samples obtained at regular intervals,
based either on flow or time. (The individual samples are combined proportionally)
Concentration Based Discharge Limits - Answer Allowable concentration of a pollutant in
wastewater discharges, usually expressed as a concentration (mg/L) in the discharge
Confined Space - Answer A space, which has limited openings for entry/exit, has unfavorable
natural ventilation which could contain or produce dangerous air contaminants (or create an
atmosphere of oxygen deprivation), and which is not intended for continuous employee
occupations. A permit may be required under OSHA to enter a confined space
Control Authority - Answer The agency responsible for implementing a pretreatment program
