Spills, drains and pollution prevention on site
Field work often involves oils, coolants, cleaning chemicals and washwater, and a few litres in the wrong drain can reach a stream. This course covers how site drains work, how to respond to a spill, who to call, and how to prevent pollution while you work, using GOV.UK (Defra and Environment Agency) guidance for England and the US EPA's National Response Center as examples. The site's own plan, local law and your employer's procedures govern; scenarios and sites are fictional.
- Level
- Beginner
- Length
- About 40 minutes
- Contents
- 3 lessons · 1 video · final exam
- Status
- Published · updated 3 Oct 2026
Skills you'll practise
- Explain the difference between surface water, foul and combined drains and where each one goes
- Read the colour code on manhole covers (England example) and know when to rely on the drain plan instead
- Carry out a spill response in a safe order: make safe, protect drains and contain, report, clean up, dispose and record
- Identify when to call the Environment Agency hotline (England example) or the National Response Center (US example)
- Apply prevention measures while working: drip trays and containment, siting, washwater control and supervised deliveries
Course outline
- 1.Spills, drains and pollution prevention on siteVideo · 2 min
- 2.Where the drains goLesson · 13 min
- 3.When something spillsLesson · 14 min
- 4.Preventing pollution while you workLesson · 13 min
- 5.Spills, drains and pollution prevention on site: knowledge checkKnowledge check · 16 questions
- 6.Spills, drains and pollution prevention on site: practical exerciseKnowledge check · 1 question
- 7.Oil on the moveScenario
- 8.Final exam10 questions · passing it completes the course, so people who already know the material can test out
Sources it draws on
The lessons and questions are written from these references, so learners can go back to the original.
- GOV.UK (Defra and Environment Agency): Pollution prevention for businesses (England example)
- GOV.UK: Report an environmental problem (Environment Agency incident hotline, England example)
- US EPA: National Response Center (reporting oil and chemical spills, US example)
- The site's own pollution incident response plan, drain plan and spill procedure (these govern)
See it with your own jobs and topics
Tell us about your team and we'll walk you through setup, from choosing jobs to your first skills check.