Free Exam M: Augering and Monitoring Practice Questions

Sample Practice Questions

Try these 10 sample questions from the Exam M: Augering and Monitoring practice bank. Each includes the answer and explanation. Continue with the interactive practice above to review the full question set.

1. 1Before a driller takes a truck-mounted auger rig onto the highway, NGWA's environmental drilling safety guideline summarizes the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations as barring the vehicle from being driven until a specific person is satisfied that its brakes, steering, lights, tires, and coupling devices are in good working order. Who is that person?

   1. A. The fleet mechanic who signed the vehicle's last annual inspection
   2. B. The driver who will be operating the vehicle on that day's trip
   3. C. The site safety officer who will receive the rig at the job site
   4. D. The project manager who scheduled the rig for the mobilization

   Answer: B

   Explanation: The guideline states that these regulations require "that no motor vehicle be driven unless the driver thereof has satisfied him or her self that the following parts and accessories are in good working order". The person who must be satisfied before the trip is therefore the driver who will actually operate the truck. A mechanic's annual inspection is a separate requirement and does not replace the driver's own pre-trip check, and neither the site safety officer nor the project manager is the driver of the vehicle.

   Reference: Environmental Remediation Drilling Safety Guideline (NGWA) — Section 3.1.1, Inspections and Maintenance, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations bullet, p. 30

2. 2A crew is hand augering a shallow boring in sand to install a water-level observation point. At the water table the hole starts to cave and cannot be advanced any farther by augering. What is a common procedure for getting the monitoring point below the water table?

   1. A. Leave the hand auger in the hole as temporary casing and set the screen inside it
   2. B. Remove the auger and drive a well point several feet below the water table
   3. C. Switch to a smaller auger head and keep augering dry below the water table
   4. D. Backfill the caved interval with filter sand and set the screen on top of it

   Answer: B

   Explanation: The USGS hand-auger guidance states: "A common procedure is to auger to the water table, remove the auger, and then drive a well point several feet below the water table." Once saturated sand caves, the crew pulls the auger and drives a well point instead of trying to auger deeper. A hand auger has no hollow stem that could act as temporary casing, and a smaller dry auger head does not keep caving saturated sand open, so neither substitutes for driving the well point.

   Reference: Guidelines and Standard Procedures for Studies of Ground-Water Quality: Selection and Installation of Wells, and Supporting Documentation (USGS WRIR 96-4233) — Installation of Wells, Table 16d (Auger drilling: hand auger, with or without power assistance), Comment 4, p. 51

3. 3A monitoring-well contractor records the measured total depth of each well every time a water-level reading is taken or a sample is collected. According to EPA's monitoring-well handbook, how often should those depth records be reviewed to document whether a well is filling with sediment?

   1. A. At least every 6 months
   2. B. At least once a year
   3. C. At least every 2 years
   4. D. At least every 5 years

   Answer: B

   Explanation: The handbook's first-alert checks state: "These depths should be reviewed at least annually to document whether or not the well is filling with sediment". Recording depth at every visit builds the record, and an annual review of that record is the minimum interval for detecting sediment build-up that calls for cleaning or redevelopment. The 2-year interval belongs to the review of high and low water-level data, and the 5-year interval belongs to hydraulic conductivity and slug or pump tests, so neither is the depth-review interval.

   Reference: Handbook of Suggested Practices for the Design and Installation of Ground-Water Monitoring Wells (EPA/600/4-89/034) — Section 'Well Maintenance and Rehabilitation', subsection 'Documenting Monitoring Well Performance', first-alert check 1, p. 126

4. 4A crew finished grouting a 2-inch monitoring well on Monday morning at a hazardous waste site where the project follows USACE EM 1110-1-4000. Within what window after final grouting should final development of this well begin?

   1. A. No sooner than 24 hours and no later than 3 days after final grouting
   2. B. No sooner than 48 hours and no later than 7 days after final grouting
   3. C. No sooner than 72 hours and no later than 14 days after final grouting
   4. D. No sooner than 12 hours and no later than 5 days after final grouting

   Answer: B

   Explanation: EM 1110-1-4000 states: "The final development of monitoring wells should be initiated no sooner than 48 hours after or more than 7 days beyond the final grouting of the well." The crew therefore schedules final development after the 48-hour minimum and before day 7. A 24-hour start is too early under this manual, and the 14-day value is the separate development-to-sampling break, not the development window.

   Reference: EM 1110-1-4000 Monitoring Well Design, Installation, and Documentation at Hazardous, Toxic, and Radioactive Waste Sites — Chapter 6, para 6-2 (Timing and Record Submittal), p. 6-1

5. 5An environmental drilling crew is shutting down for the night and several clearance holes are still open. Under NGWA's drilling safety guideline, in which situation may these holes be left open overnight, as long as hazard cones, fencing, or similar methods identify the hazard?

   1. A. The holes lie inside the site's marked exclusion zone
   2. B. The holes lie inside a lane closure with traffic control
   3. C. The site is remote, idled, or has controlled access
   4. D. The holes are cased to grade with temporary casing

   Answer: C

   Explanation: The ERDSG daily shutdown rules state: "For remote, idled, or access controlled sites, clearance holes can be left open, however, use hazard cones, fencing or other methods to identify the hazard." The exception depends on the site being remote, idled, or access controlled. Everywhere else the general rule applies: "All unattended boreholes must be adequately covered or otherwise protected to prevent drill rig personnel, site visitors, or animals from stepping or falling into the hole." A hole inside an exclusion zone or a lane closure is still open on a site that people can reach. Temporary casing set to grade still leaves an open hole that someone could step into. None of these situations meets the exception.

   Reference: Environmental Remediation Drilling Safety Guideline (NGWA) — Section 3.8.1 Temporary Shut Down, bulleted list (page 42)

6. 6During the pre-trip walk-around of a truck and trailer loaded with augers, the helper finds that one trailer brake light does not work. According to NGWA's pre-mobilization guidance, when should this deficiency be corrected?

   1. A. At the next scheduled annual inspection of the vehicle and trailer
   2. B. After arriving on site, before the rig is unloaded from the trailer
   3. C. At the end of the job, when the rig returns to the company yard
   4. D. Before the equipment is moved, as part of the pre-trip inspection

   Answer: D

   Explanation: NGWA makes the owner or operator responsible for ensuring that "Equipment is inspected prior to being moved and any deficiencies corrected prior to moving the equipment." A defective trailer brake light found on the walk-around must therefore be repaired before the truck and trailer leave. Fixing it after arrival on site is the most tempting choice, but it would still put a known-defective vehicle on public roads for the whole trip; deferring it to the end of the job or the annual inspection is even later.

   Reference: Environmental Remediation Drilling Safety Guideline (NGWA) — Section 3.1.1, Inspections and Maintenance, owner or operator responsibilities list, p. 30

7. 7A helper is running a power-assisted hand auger through soil at a site where volatile organic compounds may be present. According to USGS safety guidance for hand augering, why should the helper avoid leaning over the borehole while augering?

   1. A. Body weight near the collar can cave the upper hole wall in around the auger
   2. B. Breath moisture dropping into the hole can skew field VOC screening readings
   3. C. Leaning on the extension rods throws the auger head off its vertical alignment
   4. D. Friction heat boosts volatilization, so organic vapors rise out of the hole

   Answer: D

   Explanation: The USGS safety note reads: "Heat generated from friction between auger flights and earth materials can enhance volatilization of organic compounds. If present, exposure to volatile organic compounds rising from the well during augering can pose a health hazard to personnel leaning over the borehole." The reason to keep heads away from the hole is inhalation exposure to vapors driven off by frictional heat. The other choices describe wall stability, sample screening, or alignment issues, none of which is the hazard the note gives for leaning over the borehole.

   Reference: Guidelines and Standard Procedures for Studies of Ground-Water Quality: Selection and Installation of Wells, and Supporting Documentation (USGS WRIR 96-4233) — Installation of Wells, Table 16d (Auger drilling: hand auger), Safety Note, p. 51

8. 8Samples from an existing monitoring well have started coming up turbid even though the purging procedure has not changed. What action does EPA guidance indicate the contractor should consider?

   1. A. Shock-chlorinate the well to suppress bacteria before the next sampling round
   2. B. Air-develop the well with compressed air to clear fines out of the filter pack
   3. C. Redevelop the existing well, or install a new well if that proves necessary
   4. D. Acid-treat the well screen to dissolve the fines lodged in its slot openings

   Answer: C

   Explanation: Among the first-alert checks, the handbook states: "If turbid samples are collected from a well, redevelopment of the existing well should be considered or a new well should be installed if necessary". Turbidity points to fines entering the well, which redevelopment addresses; if that cannot correct the problem, a replacement well is the fallback. Air development is the most tempting wrong choice, but the same handbook warns that "Development with air is not recommended because the introduction of air can change the chemical environment in the well." Chlorination targets bacteria and acid targets mineral incrustation, not fines.

   Reference: Handbook of Suggested Practices for the Design and Installation of Ground-Water Monitoring Wells (EPA/600/4-89/034) — Section 'Well Maintenance and Rehabilitation', subsection 'Documenting Monitoring Well Performance', first-alert check 2, p. 126; subsection 'Downhole Maintenance', paragraph on mechanical rehabilitation, p. 128

9. 9Working under EPA ERT SOP 2156, a field team wants to start removing water and sediment from a newly installed monitoring well the same afternoon, without waiting 48 hours after grouting. Which development method does the SOP allow to begin shortly after installation?

   1. A. Surging the screened interval with a surge block
   2. B. Jetting water through a small-diameter pipe
   3. C. Bailing water and sediment out of the well
   4. D. Air surging with compressed air from the rig

   Answer: C

   Explanation: SOP 2156 ties the 48-hour wait to rigorous methods: "Development of a well should occur as soon as practical after installation, but not sooner than 48 hours after grouting is completed, if a rigorous well development is being used." It then states: "If a less rigorous method, such as bailing, is used for development, it may be initiated shortly after installation." Surging, jetting and air surging all apply strong forces near the screen and could disturb grout that has not set, so they wait the full 48 hours.

   Reference: Compendium of ERT Groundwater Sampling Procedures (EPA/540/P-91/007) — SOP #2156 Well Development, Section 6.2 (Method Summary)

10. 10Freezing temperatures are forecast overnight, and an auger rig will sit unused until morning. During the end-of-day shutdown, what should the crew do with the rig's air lines, water lines, and pumps?

    1. A. Drain them at tonight's shutdown because they will sit unused in the cold
    2. B. Leave them full and cover the rig's plumbing with plastic sheeting overnight
    3. C. Leave them full and drain them at the next morning's pre-op inspection
    4. D. Leave them full and winterize the rig only at final project demobilization

    Answer: A

    Explanation: Under temporary (daily) shutdown, the ERDSG says: "All air and water lines and pumps should be drained when not in use if freezing weather is expected." It also says: "If appropriate, the rig should be winterized at the end of each day." The lines will sit unused through a forecast freeze, so the crew drains them at tonight's shutdown. Plastic sheeting does not stop water inside the lines from freezing. Draining at the morning pre-op inspection comes after the freeze has already happened. Waiting until final demobilization ignores the requirement to protect the rig at the end of each day.

    Reference: Environmental Remediation Drilling Safety Guideline (NGWA) — Section 3.8.1 Temporary Shut Down, bulleted list (page 42)