One of the key defensive measures when it comes to preventing pollution are spill kits, however it is equally important to have well trained first responders. As well as understanding how to use spill kits it is also important for staff to have the environmental awareness to understand why preventing spills from impacting the environment is so important.
For organisations with a large work force, or for organisations where due to shift patterns etc. it would take a large number of sessions to train all relevant staff on spill response, a train the trainer course may be a more cost effective way of rolling out competent spill response training.
On a train the trainer course we train key personnel to deliver spill response training so that they can distribute it throughout your workforce. Personnel who typically attend the train the trainer course are Environmental Managers, Health and Safety Managers, Internal Trainers and Team Leaders.
We can train up to 8 delegates on each session. A typical spill response training session lasts roughly 8 hours and includes a classroom session and a practical demonstration covering:
Our spill training is made bespoke to your needs and will be tailored to include information regarding your site specific risks and the control measures you have in place. We have conducted training sessions for clients in all different sectors and understand the different risks our clients have e.g.
The main spill containment measure most people have are spill kits and we will demonstrate how to use these, but we can also give demonstrations on other spill control measures on site such as:
For many industrial sites the main risk of pollution is provided by oils.Most commonly by bulk fuel storage on site or by vehicles bringing “foreign risks” on site.We can focus our training to ensure we cover the range of health and safety risks posed by oils, from exposure causing injuries to skin such as dermatitis and more severe health risks such as cancer* to oils posing other risks including fire hazards for flammable oils such as petrol.
We will ensure the delegates are aware of how to deal with oil spills safely to protect the environment (1 litre of oil can contaminate a million litres of water). If your staff can deploy oil selective absorbents effectively on land and on water your chances of containing an oil spill will be much higher.
*diesel is a suspected carcinogenic
For most sites the highest health and safety risks in the event of a spill are posed by chemicals, certain sites will hold corrosives such as hydrochloric acid or caustic soda but even sites with less severe chemicals will pose a substantial health and safety risk.Did you know that mixing a bleach and a degreaser can give off chlorine gas, a gas which can be lethal when inhaled.Our training will ensure the delegates are aware of the dangers chemical spills can pose and how to ensure they are adequately protected against them using PPE and RPE.
As well as the substantial risks chemicals pose to health and safety our spill training will ensure the trainees are aware of the dangers chemicals pose the environment.1 litre of solvent can contaminated 100 million litres of drinking water and ammonia is toxic to fish at just 0.5 parts per million.We will train your staff to deploy chemical spill kits and use any other containment measures on site to reduce the chances of a spill causing injury and an environmental incident.
Food transfer, packaging or manufacturing sites are an extremely high pollution risk.The damage posed by substances such as milk, cream, beer, fruit juice (especially concentrates) and glucose can be devastating to the environment.Naturally occurring bacteria break down foodstuffs entering a watercourse, using up oxygen in the water and leading to fish suffocating.It is therefore imperative that staff working on sites with pollution risks caused by organic spills understand the risks these substances pose and how to contain spills in a safe and effective manner.
"I have no reservations whatsoever in recommending GPT Environmental to conduct all aspects of environmental management, including emergency spill response, training and risk assessment work."
SHEQ Manager - Upper Tier COMAH Site
"Generation and implementation of effective emergency response and spill control procedures are fundamental aspects of a safety management system."
Health and Safety Executive guidance for COMAH sites - Emergency response / spill control
"You should train your staff so they know:
PPG 22 - Dealing with Spills - (Withdrawn 2015)
"Your staff training should include:
GPP 21 - Incident response planning