Protecting the Environment

A colleague says only 'proper chemicals' can pollute, so tipping a spoiled batch of milk into the yard drain is harmless. According to GOV.UK guidance, is that right?

• AMilk is harmless because it is not on the hazardous substances list
• BSmall quantities of anything can go to a yard drain without harm
• CEven natural substances such as milk can pollute a watercourse✓
• DMilk can only pollute if it is mixed with a detergent first

Answer: GOV.UK pollution guidance says it is not just obviously hazardous substances that harm the environment: any substance not found naturally in an environment, such as detergents or concrete slurry, can pollute, and even natural substances such as milk can. Some substances harm by reducing the amount of oxygen in rivers and streams. Yard drains are often surface water drains that discharge directly to the environment, so there is no safe small quantity.

Your team is looking at the packaging waste it produces. Under the order set by GOV.UK guidance, which action should be considered first?

• APreventing the waste being produced at all✓
• BRecovering energy from it at an incinerator
• CRecycling the packaging through a contractor
• DSending it to landfill under a transfer note

Answer: The waste hierarchy has five steps ranked according to environmental impact, and GOV.UK requires businesses to do everything they reasonably can to prevent, reuse, recycle or recover waste, in that order. Prevention sits at the top, with recycling and recovery lower down, and sending waste to landfill for disposal is the option of last resort rather than a first choice.

A skip of general waste is being collected from your site. What document must be completed for the load?

• AA vehicle delivery note
• BA COSHH assessment
• CA waste transfer note✓
• DA hazardous waste permit

Answer: Businesses must complete a waste transfer note for each load of waste that leaves their premises, as part of the duty of care for business waste. A COSHH assessment concerns hazardous substances at work rather than waste movements, a delivery note is a commercial document, and hazardous waste carries extra responsibilities beyond an ordinary transfer note but does not replace it for general waste.

A man with a van offers to take away your shop's old fittings for cash, no paperwork. Under the duty of care, what must you check first?

• AThat he gives you a receipt for the cash paid
• BThat his van has a current MOT certificate
• CThat he agrees to take the fittings to a tip
• DThat he is a registered waste carrier✓

Answer: The duty of care requires businesses to check that their waste carrier is registered to dispose of waste and not to allow a carrier to dispose of waste illegally, reporting them to Crimestoppers if they do. An MOT, a receipt or a promise about the tip does nothing to show the waste will be dealt with lawfully, and a cash job with no paperwork also means no waste transfer note.

You have hosed down the oily yard behind the depot and the dirty water is pooling. Where should this contaminated water go?

• AOnto the car park so it soaks away into the ground
• BInto the foul water drain, with the water company's permission✓
• CInto the nearest roadside gully outside the building
• DInto the surface water drain, because it flows away quickest

Answer: Surface water drains discharge directly to the environment, so contaminated water from business activities such as yard cleaning must go into the foul drain connected to a foul sewer, with permission from the water company, or be recycled or removed by a registered waste carrier. Only clean water should go to a surface water drain or soakaway, and a car park or roadside gully leads straight to the environment.

A drum of hydraulic oil is being unloaded from a delivery lorry near the workshop. What does GOV.UK guidance say should be in place for the delivery?

• AAn empty skip so any leaking drum can be thrown straight in
• BA hose ready so any spill can be washed into the surface water drain
• CA sign asking the driver to take care and drive slowly
• DA suitable spill kit nearby and people who know how to use it✓

Answer: For deliveries and movements of potential pollutants, GOV.UK guidance says to have a spill kit suitable to the products on site available near storage, loading areas and transfer routes, to supervise deliveries, and to make sure the people involved know what to do if there is a spill and how to use the kit safely. Washing a spill into a surface water drain sends it straight to the environment, while a sign or an empty skip does nothing to contain a leak.

Your site keeps a 1,000-litre diesel tank inside a bund. What does GOV.UK guidance say must NOT be done with the bund?

• AStore other materials in it or let rainwater build up inside it✓
• BLeave it empty of diesel for more than a week
• CSite it more than 10 metres from the nearest drain
• DPaint its walls so the diesel level cannot be seen

Answer: GOV.UK says you must not store other materials within a bund and must remove accumulated rainwater regularly. The bund is the secondary containment that catches a leak or spill from the tank, so anything stored inside it takes up the capacity that a spill would need and standing rainwater does the same. Painting the walls, leaving the tank empty or keeping the bund well away from a drain are not restrictions the guidance imposes.

A forklift punctures a container of solvent and the liquid is running towards a gully that leads to the stream. After alerting your supervisor, who does GOV.UK guidance say must be called immediately?

• AThe solvent supplier's customer helpline
• BThe local council's refuse collection team
• CThe Health and Safety Executive's Infoline
• DThe Environment Agency pollution incident hotline✓

Answer: GOV.UK guidance says to call the Environment Agency pollution incident hotline immediately if polluting materials have entered or could enter a watercourse or soak into the ground, for example from a ruptured tank, leaking pipe or uncontained spill. Polluting can bring an unlimited fine, up to 5 years in prison and the full cost of the clean-up. The council, HSE and the supplier are not the emergency contact for a pollution incident.

Your depot has one big skip for everything, including used oil filters and paint tins alongside cardboard. What does GOV.UK storage guidance require?

• AHazardous and non-hazardous waste must be stored separately✓
• BWaste can be mixed provided the skip has a lockable lid
• CEverything can share one skip if it is emptied at least once a week
• DOnly liquids need their own container; solids can all be mixed

Answer: GOV.UK guidance says hazardous and non-hazardous waste must be stored separately, which reduces the risk of fire and means substances cannot mix if there is a spill, and businesses must sort and store waste safely and securely. Emptying frequency, a lockable lid or separating only liquids do not meet this requirement, and the duty of care also asks for dry recyclables such as card to be recycled rather than skipped with everything else.

Which of these everyday actions could cause a blockage or pollution, according to GOV.UK drain guidance?

• ARinsing out a clean mug under the tap
• BFlushing a toilet in the staff room
• CPouring cooking fat down the sink✓
• DEmptying a kettle of freshly boiled water

Answer: GOV.UK guidance says never to put fats, oil, grease or solid items down drains, because they may block, back up and cause pollution. Rinsing a mug, emptying a kettle or flushing a toilet does not put fat, oil, grease or solids into the drain, which is what the guidance warns against.