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PPMCAQA RiversideSimulated workplace
Simulated workplace
Scenario · Health, Safety and Environment

Control effluent and odour hazards over a 48-hour watch

You are the Environmental Officer on a 48-hour monitoring watch.

Advanced4 to 5 hours8 tasks
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The situation

What has happened

After a pulp line upset the effluent biochemical oxygen demand has risen to 46 against a licence limit of 50, above the internal target of 40. The morning odour patrol recorded a faint odour at the eastern boundary during a light easterly, four days after a recovery boiler total reduced sulphur exceedance that is still under investigation. The HSE Manager has asked you to take charge of environmental monitoring for 48 hours: review the log, increase sampling as the procedure requires, identify and control the sources, prepare a regulator notification in case of an exceedance, and brief her each afternoon. The effluent plant aeration has been increased and the pulp line is recovering.

Your brief. Manage the environmental monitoring and hazard control for the watch period in accordance with the Environmental Management Policy and the Chemical Spill and Environmental Incident Response Procedure, record readings and actions in the Environmental Discharge and Emissions Log and the Incident and Hazard Register, and prepare the notification and briefing documents.
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Tasks

Deliverables

  • Situation summary with likely sources
  • 48-hour monitoring plan
  • Environmental log records for the watch
  • Draft regulator notification
  • Two afternoon briefings and the Incident and Hazard Register entry

Documents to use

Systems to use

Environmental Discharge and Emissions Log

The shift record of effluent and stack monitoring results against licence limits, with any exceedance and the action taken.

Incident and Hazard Register

The site register of injuries, near misses, hazards, equipment damage and environmental incidents with their investigation status and corrective actions.

Production Shift Log

The shift record for each production area covering tonnes made, downtime, quality results, plant status and handover notes.

For trainers and assessors

Units of competency

Current on training.gov.au for the Pulp and Paper Manufacturing Industry Training Package as at 10 September 2026.

PPMENV401Monitor and control environmental hazards
PPMENV201Identify and monitor environmental discharges and emissions
PPMWAS401Troubleshoot and rectify water systems
PPMWHS402Identify, assess and control work health and safety risk in own work

Qualifications

PPM40121Certificate IV in Pulp and Paper Operations
Assessor notes

What to look for

Evidence guide

Look for correct licence limits and notification timing taken from the documents, a monitoring plan that names people and times, controls that are realistic for an effluent plant and recovery boiler with approvals identified, log records that show status changing as controls take effect, and a notification draft that contains the facts the regulator needs. Briefings should be concise and honest about uncertainty.

The student's evidence summary lists every record they created or changed in the systems named above, their notes and the tasks they ticked. Verify it against the deliverables and your own assessment tool.