100 Basic Safety Interview Questions and

Answers
Here's a comprehensive list of 100 basic safety interview questions with answers that you can
use to prepare for safety-related job interviews. This list covers general workplace safety,
OSHA standards, hazard identification, and safety management principles.

General Safety Questions (1-20)

What is workplace safety?
Answer: Workplace safety refers to the prevention of accidents, injuries, and illnesses in the
workplace through proper procedures, training, and hazard control.

Why is safety important in the workplace?

Answer: Safety protects employees from harm, reduces costs associated with accidents,
improves productivity, and ensures legal compliance.

What are the basic safety rights of workers?

Answer: The right to know about hazards, the right to participate in safety programs, and the
right to refuse unsafe work.

What is a near miss?

Answer: An unplanned event that didn't result in injury or damage but had the potential to do
so.

What is PPE?
Answer: Personal Protective Equipment - gear worn to minimize exposure to hazards.

Name 5 common types of PPE.

Answer: Hard hats, safety glasses, gloves, steel-toe boots, earplugs.

What is the purpose of a safety sign?

Answer: To warn of hazards, provide mandatory instructions, or give safety information.

What does OSHA stand for?

Answer: Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

What is a hazard?
Answer: Any source of potential damage, harm, or adverse health effects.

What is risk?
Answer: The chance or probability that a person will be harmed by a hazard.

What is a safety audit?

Answer: A systematic examination of workplace conditions to identify hazards.

What is the hierarchy of hazard control?

Answer: Elimination, substitution, engineering controls, administrative controls, PPE.
What is ergonomics?
Answer: The science of designing the workplace to fit the worker to prevent musculoskeletal
disorders.

What is lockout/tagout?
Answer: Procedures to ensure machines are shut off and can't be started during maintenance.

What is MSDS/SDS?
Answer: Material Safety Data Sheet/Safety Data Sheet - provides information about
hazardous chemicals.

What is confined space?

Answer: A space with limited entry/exit that's not designed for continuous occupancy.

What is fall protection?

Answer: Systems (harnesses, guardrails) to prevent or arrest falls from heights.

What is fire prevention?

Answer: Measures taken to prevent the outbreak of fire or reduce its impact.

What are the three elements of fire?

Answer: Heat, fuel, and oxygen (fire triangle).

What is first aid?

Answer: Immediate care given to a person who has been injured or suddenly taken ill.

Hazard Identification & Risk Assessment (21-40)

How would you identify workplace hazards?
Answer: Through inspections, job hazard analysis, employee reports, incident investigations.

What is JSA?
Answer: Job Safety Analysis - breaking down a job into steps to identify hazards.

What are physical hazards?

Answer: Noise, radiation, temperature extremes, vibration, etc.

What are chemical hazards?

Answer: Gases, vapors, liquids, dusts that can harm health or safety.

What are biological hazards?

Answer: Bacteria, viruses, insects, plants, animals, etc.

What are ergonomic hazards?

Answer: Poor workstation design, repetitive motions, improper lifting.

What is a risk assessment?

Answer: Process of evaluating risks associated with identified hazards.
How do you prioritize hazards?
Answer: Based on severity of potential harm and likelihood of occurrence.

What is the difference between acute and chronic hazards?

Answer: Acute - immediate effects; chronic - effects develop over time.

What is toxicology?
Answer: Study of the adverse effects of chemicals on living organisms.

What is the threshold limit value (TLV)?

Answer: Maximum concentration of a substance most workers can be exposed to.

What is the purpose of safety inspections?

Answer: To identify and correct hazards before they cause accidents.

What should you do if you identify a hazard?

Answer: Report it immediately, warn others, and help implement controls.

What is housekeeping in safety terms?

Answer: Maintaining a clean, orderly workplace to prevent accidents.

Why is proper lighting important for safety?

Answer: Prevents eye strain, improves visibility of hazards, reduces accidents.

What are the dangers of poor ventilation?

Answer: Can lead to buildup of toxic gases, dusts, or insufficient oxygen.

What is a safety committee?

Answer: Group of employees and management that addresses safety issues.

What are unsafe acts?

Answer: Employee behaviors that could lead to accidents (bypassing guards, etc.).

What are unsafe conditions?

Answer: Physical workplace conditions that could cause accidents.

What is safety culture?

Answer: Shared values and beliefs about safety in an organization.

Emergency Preparedness (41-60)

What should an emergency action plan include?
Answer: Evacuation procedures, emergency contacts, roles and responsibilities.

What are the types of workplace emergencies?

Answer: Fires, chemical spills, medical emergencies, natural disasters.

What is an evacuation plan?

Answer: Procedures for safe and orderly building evacuation in emergencies.
Where should emergency exits be located?
Answer: Clearly marked, unobstructed, and accessible from all work areas.

What is a fire extinguisher's PASS method?

Answer: Pull pin, Aim at base, Squeeze handle, Sweep side to side.

What are the fire extinguisher classes?

Answer: A (ordinary combustibles), B (flammable liquids), C (electrical), D (metals).

What is first aid training?

Answer: Instruction in providing initial care for injuries/illnesses until medical help arrives.

What should a first aid kit contain?

Answer: Bandages, gauze, antiseptic, gloves, scissors, etc. (contents vary by workplace
needs).

When should you call emergency services?

Answer: For serious injuries, chest pain, difficulty breathing, unconsciousness, etc.

What is CPR?
Answer: Cardiopulmonary resuscitation - emergency procedure for cardiac arrest.

What is the Heimlich maneuver?

Answer: Abdominal thrusts to relieve choking.

What is bloodborne pathogen training?

Answer: Instruction on preventing exposure to diseases transmitted through blood.

What are universal precautions?

Answer: Treating all human blood and certain body fluids as infectious.

What is an eyewash station?

Answer: Equipment that delivers flushing fluid to rinse eyes after chemical exposure.

What is a safety shower?

Answer: Emergency device to drench the body after chemical exposure.

What is an emergency stop button?

Answer: A button that immediately shuts down equipment in emergencies.

What is a spill containment procedure?

Answer: Steps to control and clean up hazardous material spills.

What is an emergency communication system?

Answer: Method (alarms, PA) to alert employees about emergencies.

What is a muster point?

Answer: Designated safe area for employees to gather after evacuation.
Why conduct emergency drills?
Answer: To practice response procedures and identify weaknesses in plans.

Industry-Specific Safety (61-80)

What are construction's "Fatal Four" hazards?
Answer: Falls, struck-by, caught-in/between, electrocution.

What is scaffolding safety?

Answer: Proper assembly, inspection, and use of temporary work platforms.

What is trenching safety?

Answer: Protective systems (sloping, shoring) to prevent cave-ins.

What is electrical safety?

Answer: Practices to prevent electric shock, burns, and arc flash/blast.

What is arc flash?

Answer: Dangerous release of energy from an electrical fault.

What is machine guarding?

Answer: Physical barriers that prevent contact with moving machine parts.

What is forklift safety?

Answer: Proper operation, load handling, and pedestrian awareness for forklifts.

What is crane safety?

Answer: Proper setup, load limits, signaling, and operation of cranes.

What is welding safety?

Answer: Protection from sparks, UV radiation, fumes, and electric shock.

What is chemical safety?

Answer: Proper handling, storage, and disposal of hazardous chemicals.

What is HAZCOM?
Answer: Hazard Communication Standard - requirements for chemical information.

What is asbestos safety?

Answer: Procedures for handling or working near this hazardous material.

What is lead safety?

Answer: Protection from lead exposure during work activities.

What is silica safety?

Answer: Protection from crystalline silica dust exposure.

What is noise exposure safety?

Answer: Hearing protection and controls for high noise areas.
What is hot work safety?
Answer: Precautions for welding, cutting, and other spark-producing work.

What is permit-required confined space?

Answer: Confined space with additional hazards requiring entry permits.

What is radiation safety?

Answer: Protection from ionizing or non-ionizing radiation sources.

What is laboratory safety?

Answer: Safe handling of chemicals, equipment, and biological agents in labs.

What is office safety?

Answer: Ergonomic setups, slip/trip prevention, and electrical safety in offices.

Safety Management (81-100)

What is a safety policy?
Answer: Company's commitment to safety and health of employees.

What are safety responsibilities of employers?

Answer: Provide safe workplace, training, PPE, and comply with regulations.

What are safety responsibilities of employees?

Answer: Follow safety rules, report hazards, use PPE properly.

What is safety training?

Answer: Instruction on hazards, safe work practices, and emergency procedures.

Why document safety training?

Answer: To prove compliance, track employee competency, and identify needs.

What is incident investigation?

Answer: Process to determine root causes of accidents to prevent recurrence.

What is root cause analysis?

Answer: Method to identify underlying causes of incidents, not just symptoms.

What are leading safety indicators?

Answer: Proactive measures (training completed, inspections conducted).

What are lagging safety indicators?

Answer: Reactive measures (injury rates, days away from work).

What is workers' compensation?

Answer: Insurance providing wage replacement and medical benefits for work injuries.

What is return-to-work program?

Answer: Plan to help injured employees return to suitable work safely.
What is behavior-based safety?
Answer: Approach focusing on observing and improving safe behaviors.

What is safety leadership?

Answer: Management's active role in promoting and supporting safety.

What is continuous safety improvement?

Answer: Ongoing process to enhance safety performance.

How do you motivate employees about safety?

Answer: Lead by example, recognize safe behavior, involve employees in safety programs.

How do you handle employees who ignore safety rules?

Answer: Retrain, document violations, apply progressive discipline if needed.

What is safety compliance vs. safety culture?

Answer: Compliance meets minimum standards; culture makes safety a core value.

How do you stay current with safety regulations?

Answer: OSHA updates, professional organizations, training, industry publications.

What safety certifications are valuable?

Answer: OSHA 30, CSP, ASP, CIH, CHST depending on role and industry.

Why pursue a career in safety?

Answer: To protect workers, make meaningful impact, and ensure regulatory compliance.