10 exam-style questions with answers and explanations, straight from our 1,030-question bank. Tap an answer to check yourself. When you're ready, take the scored version in the free practice test.
The CEAC exam has 120 questions and runs 3 hours.
These 10 free CEAC questions are organized by exam domain, so you can see how each part of the Council-certified Environmental Allergen Consultant blueprint is tested. Reveal the answer and explanation under each question.
An employee's allergist documents cat sensitization. A consultant detects Fel d 1 in dust from the employee's upholstered desk chair. The employee reports no symptoms at the desk but recurrent chest tightness in a separate copy room, where exposures have not yet been assessed. What do the findings establish at this stage?
Correct answer: A - Cat sensitization and a reservoir are documented; the copy-room symptom trigger remains unresolved.
During an asthma home assessment, a parent asks whether impermeable mattress and pillow covers are sufficient on their own. The child has physician-confirmed mite-related asthma; the bedroom contains several fabric reservoirs and remains humid. Which explanation is consistent with the 2020 NAEPP recommendations?
Correct answer: C - Encasements should form part of a targeted plan that also addresses reservoirs and moisture.
An office permits no animals. Repeated dust samples detect Fel d 1 at coat-storage benches and upholstered meeting-room seats; samples near supply diffusers and in a rarely used storage room are below the assay's detection limit. Field blanks and laboratory controls are acceptable. Several regular users own cats. Which source-and-pathway hypothesis best fits the spatial pattern?
Correct answer: D - Users carry cat allergen on clothing and deposit it onto regularly used fabric surfaces.
An office wants to reduce spring pollen entry. The manager blames flowering roses beside the outdoor-air intake. Sampling at that intake instead finds predominantly oak pollen, consistent with the regional monitoring station, although no oak trees grow on the property. The occupied office requires a mechanical outdoor-air supply. The consultant's recommendation should be to:
Correct answer: C - Improve pollen filtration at the intake while preserving the required outdoor-air supply.
After an electric heater is switched on in a basement, the room's relative humidity falls. The owner takes this as evidence that the moisture problem is solved. Measurements beside an exposed foundation wall show an air dew point of 15°C and a wall-surface temperature of 11°C. How should the consultant interpret the apparent improvement?
Correct answer: C - The wall can still collect condensation despite the lower room relative humidity.
A 60 m³ room receives 240 m³/h of HVAC supply air: 60 m³/h from outdoors and 180 m³/h recirculated. A portable particle air cleaner operates at a setting with a clean air delivery rate of 180 m³/h. For this mechanical equipment, which pair of rates correctly separates outdoor-air supply from the portable cleaner's contribution?
Correct answer: A - 1 outdoor air change/h; 3 equivalent clean-air changes/h from the portable cleaner.
A 9-year-old with physician-confirmed asthma and mouse sensitization continues to have symptoms mainly on school days. Home pest control has stopped observed mouse activity and substantially reduced Mus m 1 in comparable dust samples. Symptoms were less frequent during a school holiday. The school authorizes an assessment but reports that its classrooms look clean. Where should the investigation go next?
Correct answer: B - Map the child's school-day locations and activities, then inspect likely sources and reservoirs.
A leaking cabinet has been dried and its mold treated, but contaminated dust remains. A laboratory divides a homogenized dust sample for two analyses. No colonies grow under the culture conditions used, while an immunoassay detects Alt a 1. Quality-control results are acceptable. How can both results be valid?
Correct answer: D - Fungal material that does not grow in culture can retain allergenic protein.
Matched 1 m² carpet areas are sampled before and after cleaning using the same collection procedure and Fel d 1 assay. Before cleaning, 0.50 g of dust is recovered at 8 µg/g. After cleaning, 0.10 g is recovered at 16 µg/g. Each concentration represents its entire recovered dust sample. What happened to the recovered allergen loading per square meter?
Correct answer: B - A decrease of 60%
During an allergen investigation, fresh mouse droppings are found beneath a sink. A technician wearing protective gloves has an EPA-registered disinfectant labeled for this use and prepares to remove the deposits. Select the appropriate removal sequence.
Correct answer: D - Saturate the deposits with disinfectant, allow the labeled contact time, then wipe up.
The CEAC exam also covers these domains. Drill them in the full free practice test:
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