NEBOSH IGC International General Certificate Practice Questions — 10 Free (2026)

Which combination of signs in an individual would most suggest that they are suffering harmful levels of stress?

• A. Reduced blood pressure
• B. A gradual and sustained improvement in the accuracy of their work together with better timekeeping
• C. Greater sociability
• D. Improved punctuality
• E. Irritability, poor sleep, loss of concentration and increased use of alcohol ✓

Behavioural changes such as irritability and withdrawal, cognitive changes such as poor concentration, disturbed sleep and increased reliance on alcohol or tobacco are typical individual indicators. Improved performance, sociability and lower blood pressure point away from a stress problem. NEBOSH IGC Unit IG2, Element 5.4 Mental Ill Health at Work

Which event is most likely to require notification to an external enforcing authority?

• A. A cut requiring a plaster
• B. A minor spillage of water in a corridor that was cleaned up within a few minutes of occurring
• C. An occasion on which a worker left the site early because of a personal appointment elsewhere
• D. A fatality arising from a work activity on the premises ✓
• E. A near miss in which a load swung close to a worker but did not make contact with them

Work related deaths are notifiable in every system of reporting because they represent the most serious outcome. Minor injuries, near misses, water spills and early departures are recorded internally where relevant but are not notifiable. NEBOSH IGC IG1 Notes (ACE Training and Consulting), Element 4.3, Reporting and Recording

A maintenance department reports frequent departures from procedure whenever the work is under pressure. Which response is most likely to reduce them?

• A. Requiring maintenance staff to record each occasion on which they departed from the procedure
• B. Increasing disciplinary penalties
• C. Issuing a reminder that the procedure must be followed on every occasion without exception
• D. Removing the obstacles that make compliance difficult, such as access to tools and time ✓
• E. Transferring responsibility for the affected tasks to a contractor who specialises in that work

Situational violations arise because compliance is impractical, so removing the obstacles is the only response that addresses the cause. Penalties, reminders, deviation logs and outsourcing leave the obstacle in place. NEBOSH International Diploma Unit IA Revision Guide (RRC International), Element IA8, Human Failure

Which sequence of atmospheric testing should be used before entry into a vessel that has held solvent?

• A. Test for oxygen only
• B. Test after entry
• C. Test for oxygen first, then for flammable gas and then for toxic contaminants ✓
• D. Rely on the fact that the vessel has stood open for several days and needs no testing at all
• E. Test for toxics only

Oxygen content is checked first because the readings of other instruments depend on it, then flammability because of the immediate explosion risk, then toxicity. Testing after entry exposes the entrant to whatever is present, and standing open is no guarantee that heavier than air vapour has cleared. NEBOSH IGC Unit IG2, Element 8 Confined Spaces

Which measure best reduces the risk of kickback when ripping timber on a bench mounted circular saw?

• A. Increasing the feed rate so that the timber passes the blade in as short a time as is possible
• B. Removing the crown guard
• C. Using a blunt blade
• D. Fitting a riving knife set close behind the blade to hold the cut open ✓
• E. Working without a push stick

Timber closing on the back of the blade grips it and is thrown back at the operator, and a correctly set riving knife keeps the kerf open so this cannot happen. Removing the guard, forcing the feed, using a blunt blade and abandoning the push stick all make kickback and contact more likely. NEBOSH IGC Unit IG2, Element 9.5 Machinery Examples

Which control best protects other workers in an open workshop from the ultraviolet given off by arc welding?

• A. Providing tinted glasses
• B. Increasing the general lighting level
• C. Surrounding each welding bay with opaque screens that absorb the radiation and do not reflect it ✓
• D. Asking passers by to look away while an arc is struck nearby in the workshop
• E. Fitting a clear polycarbonate partition around the bay so that supervisors retain a full view of the work

Screening at the bay stops the radiation reaching bystanders, and an opaque matt finish avoids reflecting the arc onto neighbouring workers. Clear partitions transmit the radiation, and asking people to look away depends entirely on behaviour at the wrong moment. NEBOSH IGC Unit IG2, Element 5.3 Radiation (Knowledge Body 6, 9.13 Non-ionising Radiation)

An organisation wants a measure of unsafe acts across a large site without inspecting every area. Which method suits that purpose?

• A. A full inspection of the site
• B. Safety sampling along a fixed route, recording defined categories of observation ✓
• C. A survey of the noise levels experienced by workers in each of the departments on the site
• D. An audit of the safety management arrangements operated across the whole of the site
• E. A review of the accident records for the site covering the previous three years of operation

Sampling uses a defined route and defined categories so that a consistent slice of the site can be observed repeatedly and compared over time. Full inspection is what the organisation wants to avoid, and audits, surveys and record reviews answer different questions. NEBOSH IG1 Notes (IEHSAS), Element 4, Active and Reactive Monitoring

A contractor is to work in a client's occupied factory. Which arrangement most reduces the risk to the client's own employees?

• A. Giving the contractor a site map
• B. Requiring the contractor to provide a copy of the insurance certificate before starting on site
• C. Physically separating the work area, agreeing shared arrangements in advance and controlling access at the boundary ✓
• D. Allowing the contractor to work only at weekends so that the two separate workforces never have to be coordinated at all
• E. Asking the contractor to work quietly

Where two workforces share premises the danger lies at the interface, so a defined and controlled work area plus agreed arrangements for shared hazards is the key measure. Insurance and maps do not stop an employee walking into the work. NEBOSH IGC Unit IG2, Element 8.1 Health Welfare and Work Environment (Knowledge Body 4, 10.1 Safe Working Environment)

Why is under reporting of verbal abuse a significant problem for an employer?

• A. Without records the true scale of the risk is hidden and controls cannot be targeted or justified ✓
• B. It increases insurance costs
• C. It slows down deliveries
• D. It means that staff will automatically be disciplined for failing to follow the reporting procedure
• E. It affects product quality

Reporting supplies the evidence used to identify hot spots, times and triggers, so silence leaves the assessment blind and improvements unsupported. Insurance, discipline, logistics and quality are peripheral to the assessment failure at the heart of the problem. NEBOSH IGC Unit IG2, Element 5.5 Violence at Work

Which of these is an individual factor influencing safety related behaviour?

• A. The level of supervision provided to the team during periods of high demand
• B. The rate at which the production line is required to run during the shift
• C. The perception a worker holds of how likely the hazard is to affect them ✓
• D. The layout of the controls
• E. The clarity of the instructions supplied with the equipment the worker operates

Risk perception belongs to the person and varies between individuals doing the same task. Control layout, line rate, instructions and supervision are features of the job or the organisation rather than of the individual. NEBOSH IG1 Study Guide (Bilal Consultancy Limited), Element 3.3, Individual Job and Organisational Factors