Training staff

What to train your staff and where you can get training courses and materials.

You must make sure that staff are properly trained to reduce risks of operator errors and accidents. Training is an important part of the environmental management system for your facility.

Through your training programme and procedures you need to make sure that staff:

  • understand the need for environmental protection
  • are aware of the risks posed by an underground storage tank facility
  • know what the risk management procedures and controls are

You should offer training on:

  • on-site hazards and risks
  • risk management measures and procedures
  • emergency procedures
  • controlling visiting contractors

You should train anyone working on the site on their responsibilities and keep a record of training.

You should train all new staff, and give refresher training for existing staff.

Train your staff

You should teach all new staff about environmental protection and give refresher training to existing staff. Your training should cover:

  • how to manage hazards and risks to groundwater on the site (get more information at the Groundwater Forum)
  • the consequences of groundwater pollution
  • what to do in an emergency
  • how to supervise visiting contractors
  • any environmental protection measures specific to the site

Your training should also cover environmental protection, including:

  • groundwater (and general) environmental sensitivity
  • the consequences of groundwater pollution
  • facility specific risks and environmental protection measures
  • an individual’s specific role and responsibility

You should put this in your environmental risk assessment and risk management action plans, and should form part of any environmental management system that you have in place.

Your staff involved in operating the facility should read and understand these documents. At a minimum all staff involved in operating the facility should be aware of the existence of these documents and of the issues detailed in them.

For retail filling stations, this doesn’t include members of the general public using a facility as customers.

Training sources

You can get health and safety training courses and materials from several industry bodies, including the:

  • Association for Petroleum and Explosives Administration (APEA)
  • Forecourt Contractors Safety Association (FCSA)
  • Energy Institute (EI)
  • Petroleum Enforcement Liaison Group (PELG)
  • Petroleum Retailers Association (PRA)

Larger oil companies also offer in-house training.

A number of courses run by these organisations already include, or are planned to include, awareness of environmental protection issuers.

Attendance at a suitable environmental protection course could offer evidence that you’re meeting training requirements.