Diesel spill beside a surface water drain
You are refuelling a 20-tonne excavator from a 1,000-litre mobile bowser on a compacted hardstanding beside a surface water drain. The drain discharges to a stream 150 m away. The bowser nozzle trigger sticks and about 15 litres of diesel spills onto the hardstanding before you stop it. Rain is forecast in 30 minutes. You have a spill kit in the site cabin 80 m away, but its lid is missing and the absorbent granules look damp. The site manager says to hose the area into the drain because it will dilute. The excavator is still running and a colleague is smoking nearby.
1. What are your immediate actions, in order, and why?
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Stop the transfer at once: release the nozzle trigger, close the bowser valve and switch off the pump. Do not hose the diesel into the drain. The drain discharges 150 m to a stream, and rain is due in 30 minutes, so containment is urgent. Put on gloves and eye protection, stop smoking and keep other ignition sources away. Use the spill kit to protect the drain first: drain cover, sandbags or absorbent booms around the gully, then granules on the spill. The kit lid is missing and the granules are damp, so use what is serviceable but call for a replacement kit and extra absorbent immediately. If the spill reaches the drain, tell the supervisor and follow the pollution incident plan. Do not wash it away; dilution does not remove the pollution.
2. What reporting, clean-up and prevention steps follow?
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Report the spill immediately to the supervisor and site environmental contact, giving the time, location, estimated volume of about 15 litres, cause, whether any reached the drain, and actions taken. Record it in the site incident log and notify the relevant regulator if the site plan or legal duty requires it. Clean up by collecting contaminated granules and soil as hazardous waste for licensed disposal; do not put them in general waste. Check the drain and stream outfall if safe, and keep the area cordoned off. Prevent recurrence: remove the bowser from service until the trigger is repaired, use a drip tray and bunded bowser, refuel away from drains, check spill kits monthly, and brief the team. The record should be factual and show the chain of notifications and disposal.