BOHS Exposure Magazine - Issue 3

A big welcome to our new President OH2018 Session Reviews OH2018 Award Winners Issue 2 2018

New Honorary Fellow appointed

OH2018 Reviews

‘‘A HEALTHY WORKING ENVIRONMENT FOR ALL‘‘

The Chartered Society for Worker Health Protection

2 DAY FACULTY OF ASBESTOS ASSESSMENT & MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE 8 & 9 NOVEMBER 2018 PARK INN MANCHESTER 2018 will see the first conference of the Faculty of Asbestos Assessment and Management (FAAM), which will see a combination of plenary sessions, technical sessions and workshops. The conference will bring together researchers, practitioners and regulators, and other experts to discuss the latest developments in asbestos assessment, management and control.

The three key topic areas will be: Asbestos-related diseases, current understanding and advances in their treatment; Methods of analysis for asbestos: roles and limitations; Asbestos management and control.

Whilst FAAM is building a programme based on these three topic areas, abstracts are invited for any aspect of asbestos.

Rates for the 2 day conference BOHS Member £350 + VAT Non-Member £400 + VAT An exhibition stand for the 2 day conference £1,000 +VAT including 1 delegate place.

For more information about exhibition and sponsorship opportunities or if you have any other questions about the event please email conferences@bohs.org

To register for the conference or submit your abstract visit

RAISING STANDARDS REDUCING RISKS

www.bohs.org/conferences-events/

iamfaam.org

EXPOSURE is the official magazine of BOHS BOHS Head Office

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The views expressed in this issue are not necessarily those of BOHS Council

Dear Readers, And just like that, OH2018 in Stratford-upon-Avon zoomed right past us! We were very delighted to see those of you who were able to attend and we thank the speakers and the organising committee for creating such a brilliant event! In this issue, members have shared summaries of some key sessions and we extend a massive thanks to them for providing their insights. Plans for OH2019 are currently underway as we speak in the sunny seaside town of Brighton—will we see you there?

We hope to see you join us for some ice cream by the lovely pier.

OH2018 in Stratford-upon-Avon Read reviews of sessions starting from page 14

Contents 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 12 14 19 20 21 22 24 26

From the President From the CEO Our New President for 2018 – 2019 OH2018 Overview OH2018 AGM OH2018 Award Winners New Honorary Fellow appointed Our OH2018 Award Winners OH2018 Reviews 3M Award Winner’s OH2018 Summary Obituary: Hedley Williams Head Office Updates Meet the President IOSH No Time To Lose Campaign SPE Event Summary

The conference also waves a fond farewell to Karen Bufton who is now Immediate Past-President and heralds Neil Grace as the new President for 2018-2019. We also welcome John Dobbie who is currently President-Elect.

Many congratulations to our award winners at OH2018.

Read about them on pages 9 and 12. Our 3M Young Hygienist of the Year, Emma Pennington, shares her experience on page 19. If you would like to see the presentations and photos from OH2018, head to our conference website: www.oh-2018.com.

In other news, we would like to say another fond farewell to Caroline Smith, our Marketing Executive, who has been with us for three years and will be moving on with the next chapter of her life. Caroline has supported the marketing department immensely with her creative flair in writing and creating new ideas, showcasing her friendliness and initiative, plus, displaying utter professionalism with staff and stakeholders - she will be sorely missed. We also say goodbye to our Marketing Assistant, Dimitra Kasapoglou, who returned to Greece to further her career. We wish them both the best and thank them for their massive contributions and valuable assistance to further the work of BOHS. Until then, we shall see you in the next issue!

The Exposure Team: Michelle Chan, Caroline Smith, Claire Creed and Evi Karmou

Read the latest from our scientific journal, Annals of Work Exposures and Health at: academic.oup.com/annweh/issue

Let’s keep in touch!

LinkedIn: BOHS - The Chartered Society for Worker Health Protection Twitter: @BOHSworld YouTube: BOHS Video Facebook: BOHSworld

From the the President President Neil Grace Grace Neil Just before before OH2018, OH2018, II was was asked askedto tothink thinkabout aboutpenning penningmy my Just first Exposure column as President, so, as I sit in the Crowne first Exposure column as President, so, as I sit in the Crowne Plaza in in Stratford-upon-Avon, Stratford-upon-Avon, I I think think of of the the many many Royal Royal Plaza Shakespeare Company performances I have watched over Shakespeare Company performances I have watched over the years and hope some Shakespearean prose comes the years and hope some Shakespearean prose comes toto mind but but alas, alas,ititwas wasnot notto tobe! be! mind So, to to start, start, II thought thought II would would look look back back atat my my year year asas So, President-Elect (PE).

(PE). I’m I’mnot notcompletely completelysure surewhere wherethe theyear year President-Elect has disappeared disappeared to to but but the the experience experiencehas hasundoubtedly undoubtedlyled led has to me growing as a person, as a manager and as a leader. to me growing as a person, as a manager and as a leader.

As you you may may be be aware, aware, 2017 2017 had had been been aa difficult difficult year year for for As BOHS. We We went went through through the the mill millininterms termsofoflosing losingour ourCEO CEO BOHS. at short short notice notice in in the the early early part part of of the the year, year, followed followed by by at three other othermembers membersof ofstaff staffduring duringthe theyear. year.Luckily, Luckily,we wehad had three Karen Bufton Bufton at at the thehelm helmas asPresident President(as (aswell wellas asaaproactive proactive Karen Council) to to lend lend support support to to Shani Shani Jackson Jackson and and the the Head Head Council) Office team team to to ensure ensurewe wecame cameout outof of2017 2017ininaagood goodplace place - Office and we we did. did. As As Karen Karen mentioned mentioned inin her her final final Exposure Exposure and column, we we now now have have Simon SimonFesting Festingas asCEO CEOininplace, place,plus, plus,aa column, strengthened strengthenedoffice officeteam. team.

Neil Neil on on the the podium, podium,addressing addressingthe the attendees attendees during during aa session session

As part part ofof my my PEPE tour tour ofof the the regions, regions, I I delivered delivereda a As presentation named “NG + OH + STEM + CPD = BOHS”. was presentation named “NG + OH + STEM + CPD = BOHS”. It Itwas named by one of the regional organisers as the “Grace named by one of the regional organisers as the “Grace Equation”- - I Ithink thinkhehehad hadbeen beenreading readingtoo toomany manyDan Dan Equation” Brown novel and yes, it doesn’t balance!

Brown novel and yes, it doesn’t balance! youdidn’t didn’tget getchance chancetotocome comealong, along,it itwas wasbasically basicallyanan IfIfyou introductiontotome me(NG) (NG)with withsome somedodgy dodgyScouse Scousejokes, jokes,how how introduction fellinto intooccupational occupationalhygiene hygieneinitially initiallyand andhow howI progressed I progressed I Ifell (OH), my my support support into into the the STEM STEM (science, (science, technology, technology, (OH), engineering and maths) programme within the school school engineering and maths) programme within the curriculum and a challenge into our CPD (continuous curriculum and a challenge into our CPD (continuous professional development) development) process process - - I I was was looking lookingfor for professional member comments and feedback, but also for some possible member comments and feedback, but also for some possible easyroutes routestotoimprove improvethe theprocess. process. easy Duringthe theregional regionalmeetings, meetings,I Ialso alsokept keptmembers membersupdated updated During onBOHS BOHSmatters: matters:for forexample, example,covering coveringthe theongoing ongoingSociety Society on recruitment,the theBreathe BreatheFreely Freelycampaign campaignand andthe theincreasing increasing recruitment, FAAMnumbers. numbers.

FAAM The The CPD CPDdebate debateatatallallthe themeetings meetingswas wasinteresting interestingand and heated heated atat times, times, itit raised raised some some poor poor practice, practice, some some frustrations frustrationsbut butalso alsosome somegreat greatideas ideastototake takeforward. forward.These These included: included: •• Introduce Introduceaaplanning planningtool tooltotosupport supportthe thenew newyear year •• Provide Provideaacrib cribsheet sheetthat thatsimplifies simplifiesthe theprocess process(simple (simple guidance) guidance) •• Provide Provideearlier earlierreminders remindersbybynot notwaiting waitinguntil untilDecember December •• Use social media for reminders, updates and tips Use social media for reminders, updates and tips •• Provide Provideaamore morerobust robustwebsite website •• Bring Bringback backthe thepeer peerreview/sign review/signoff off •• Create Create aa suitable suitable process process for for retired retired and and emeritus emeritus members members I Iwill willdiscuss discussthese theseideas ideaswith withFaculty Facultyand andfeedback feedbackthrough through the theyear. year.IfIfyou youhave haveany anymore moreideas, ideas,please pleasecontact contactme meatat President@bohs.org.

President@bohs.org.

I Iwould wouldjust justlike liketotopause pauseand andgive givea abig bigshout shoutout outtotoallallour our regional regionalorganisers. organisers.They Theydo doa afantastic fantasticjob jobacross acrossthe theUK, UK, putting puttingon onsessions sessionsfor formembers memberstotoattend attendfor forenjoyment, enjoyment, education educationand andnetworking networkingatatleast leastthree threeororfour fourtimes timesa ayear: year: remember rememberthese theseguys guysand andgirls girlsare areallallvolunteers! volunteers!Thank Thankyou you allallsosomuch muchfor foryour yourtime timeand anddedication. dedication.

IfIfyou youasasaaBOHS BOHSmember memberdon’t don’tget gettotothese thesesessions sessionsvery very often, why not try and get one or two pencilled in often, why not try and get one or two pencilled inyour yourdiary diary totoattend attend- -ititisisimportant importantwe wesupport supportthese thesemeetings meetingsand and you also receive CPD points! you also receive CPD points!

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So, So,there thereyou youhave havethe thefirst firstcolumn columndone doneand anddusted, dusted,and andasas Shakespeare once said, “all’s well that ends well!”

Shakespeare once said, “all’s well that ends well!”

From the CEO From the CEO Simon Festing Simon Festing Any good Chief Executive will have made an “assessment” of Anyorganisation, good Chief Executive have made an their not leastwill when applying for“assessment” the job! In myof their organisation, not least when applying for In my case, that assessment invariably starts at the the top,job! namely case, that assessment invariably starts at the top, namely with the governing body, which for the BOHS is the Council with the governing body, which of forTrustees). the BOHS is the Council (and which I think of as the Board (and which I think of as the Board of Trustees).

The vibrancy of the governing body is an essential element in The vibrancy governing body is an essential element the running of of a the modern organisation.

I was surprised (andin the running of a modern organisation.

I was surprised (and dismayed) to find in my last role as CEO of a similar dismayed) to find in my last role as CEO of a similar professional body that none of the trustees attended the professional annual body that none of (which the trustees the organisation’s conference was a attended few months organisation’s annual conference (which was a few months after I had started). In that organisation, trustees were all after I had started). In that organisation, trustees were all appointed (none elected), and some had served long terms appointed (none elected), and some had served long terms of office largely detached from the membership. So, it’s a of office largely detached from the membership. So, it’s a great relief to come into a Society where the trustees are great relief to come into a Society where the trustees are very much drawn from its members. very much drawn from its members.

The annual conference is the one time when everyone can The annual conference is the one time when everyone can get together, and strongest impression I got from the annual get together, and strongest impression I got from the annual conference was the sense of camaraderie and cohesion conference was the sense of camaraderie and cohesion amongst amongstmembers membersofofthe theprofession. profession.AAgreat greatdeal dealofofeffort effort goes into the conference programme, and I hope goes into the conference programme, and I hope you you all all appreciated appreciatedthe thequality qualityofofthe thespeakers speakersand andpresentations. presentations.

Whilst I don’t Whilst I don’thave haveprevious previousyears yearstotocompare compareagainst, against,I Ivery very much enjoyed the plenary sessions.

The question much enjoyed the plenary sessions. The questionofofwhether whether the thesubjects subjectscovered covered were were the the right right ones ones isis one one for for yourselves – and feedback is always welcome!

The benefit to yourselves – and feedback is always welcome! The benefit to meme is is the theunique uniqueopportunity opportunitytotomeet meetour ourBOHS BOHSmembers membersinin person, and to discuss the range of activities that person, and to discuss the range of activities thatwe wecarry carry out. out.

sponsorship), and this has caused disquiet. We are working sponsorship), this has we caused WeHowever, are working hard to clarify and the support offerdisquiet. to regions. we hard to clarify the support we offer to regions.

However, weis urge members to recognise that the way the Society is run urge members to recognise that the the Society is run is ultimately a matter for Council, andway to keep up a dialogue ultimately a matter for Council, and to keep up a dialogue with your friendly members of Council! with your friendly members of Council!

I wrote in my last column about how staff run the I wrote in of mythelast column how staffto run the “machinery” Society, and about our endeavours improve “machinery” of the Society, and our endeavours to improve our internal processes. I’m pleased to say that we have our internal processes. to say that we which have agreed on a way forwardI’m for pleased our membership portal, agreed on a way forward for our membership portal, which is dependent on an internal membership database (which we is dependent on an internal membership database (which we call a CRM—customer relationship management). We will be call a CRM—customer relationship management). We will be moving to a new database for members within the course of moving to a new database for members within the course of the year. This will be followed by a (shiny!) new website the year. This will be followed by a (shiny!) new website within a year from now. We have every intention of keeping within a year from now. We have every intention of keeping disruption to a minimum, so please look out for further disruption to a minimum, so please look out for further news. news.

Finally, you may been made aware of Mike Slater stepping Finally, you may been made aware of Mike Slater stepping down from his role in our Breathe Freely campaign. I would down from his role in our Breathe Freely campaign. I would very immense contribution contribution to to verymuch much like like to to thank thank Mike Mike for for his his immense the Society throughout the years, and in particular, for the the Society throughout the years, and in particular, for the Breathe BOHS to to reach reach out out Breathe Freely Freely campaign, campaign, which which allowed allowed BOHS and promote the role and importance of occupational and promote the role and importance of occupational hygiene the construction construction and and hygiene to to new new audiences audiences across across the manufacturing manufacturing sectors. sectors.

Simon on Simon addressing addressing the the attendees attendees on the thefirst first day day of of the the conference conference

AnAnessential essentialpart partofofconference conferenceisisthe theAGM AGMwhere wherewe wehave have the theannual annualappointment appointmentprocess processfor forCouncil Councilofficers. officers.Whilst Whilst the theone-year one-yearrotation rotationfor forthe thePresident Presidentisisrelatively relatively brief, brief, there is isananin-built there in-builtstability stabilitymechanism mechanismininthe therotation rotationofofthe the Presidential PresidentialTrio Trio(including (includingPresident-Elect, President-Elect,and andImmediate Immediate Past-President).

Past-President).I would I wouldvery verymuch muchlike liketotowelcome welcomethe thenew new officers and ordinary members appointed for another year officers and ordinary members appointed for another year ononCouncil.

Council.It’s It’smy myjob jobtotowork workclosely closelywith withthe thePresidential Presidential Trio, whatever Trio, whateverdirection directionthey theywish wishtotobring bringtotothe theSociety.

Society. appearanceatatthe theRegional RegionalOrganisers’ Organisers’(RO) (RO)meeting meetingon on MyMyappearance thefirst firstday day ofof conference conference was was both both rewarding rewarding and and the instructive.Rewarding, Rewarding,because because I I can can see see the the very very real real instructive. struggles of organising events in various geographically struggles of organising events in various geographically dispersedregions, regions,each eachwith withtheir theirown ownchallenges. challenges. May May I I dispersed applaud the continued efforts of members to keep up the applaud the continued efforts of members to keep up the regionalevents; events;I should I shouldbebeclear clearthat thatHead HeadOffice Officestaff staffare are regional fullysupportive supportiveand andthere theretotohelp helpwhen whenwe wecan. can. The The RO RO fully meeting was was nonetheless nonetheless instructive instructive because because meeting communicationbetween betweenHead HeadOffice Officeand andregional regionalorganisers organisers communication has not beenupuptotoscratch scratch(for (forwhich whichI offer I offermy myapologies). apologies).AA has not been misunderstandinghas hasarisen arisenthat that Head Head Office Office has has been been misunderstanding running things in a certain way, (in particular, pushing for running things in a certain way, (in particular, pushing for

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Our 2019 Our New New President President for for 2018 2018 – – 2019 Caroline Caroline Smith Smith

able to to stand stand on on these these ‘giants’’ ‘giants’’ shoulders. shoulders. II am am eager eager to to able continue the amazing progress the Society has made in continue the amazing progress the Society has made in terms of raising awareness and effectively promoting worker terms of raising awareness and effectively promoting worker health protection, protection, not not only only in in the the UK UK but but also also globally.” globally.” health

As As isis traditional, traditional, at at our our recent recent annual annual conference, conference, the the presidential mantle was passed on to a new President presidential mantle was passed on to a new President for for the the forthcoming forthcoming term. term. This This year, year, Karen Karen Bufton Bufton handed handed over over the the baton baton to to Neil Neil Grace: Grace: prior prior to to his his year year as as President-Elect, President-Elect, Neil Neil was wasBOHS’ BOHS’Honorary Honorary Treasurer Treasurer for for three three years. years.

Neil has has also also shared shared with with us us his his personal personal aims aims for for his his Neil presidential term: “Obviously, the core aim will be the presidential term: “Obviously, the core aim will be the continued focus focus on on raising raising awareness awareness of of occupational occupational continued hygiene, in terms of what it is, and how it can benefit benefit hygiene, in terms of what it is, and how it can organisations.

Additionally, I am very keen to support organisations. Additionally, I am very keen to support improvements in in continuing continuing professional professional development development for for improvements members: this is a subject I’ve focused on during my members: this is a subject I’ve focused on during my President-Elect regional regional tours, tours, and and II am am specifically specifically President-Elect championing the the take-up take-up of of STEM STEM promotion promotion in in schools schools and and championing colleges –– not not only only by by occupational occupational hygienists hygienists but but by by the the colleges entire health and safety profession.” entire health and safety profession.”

Highly Highly qualified qualified for for this this role, role, Neil Neil isis aa Chartered Chartered Professional Professional Occupational Hygienist (CFFOH), and Occupational Hygienist (CFFOH), and completed completed an an MSc MSc in in Occupational Hygiene at the University of Manchester Occupational Hygiene at the University of Manchester in in 2010.

2010. Having Having gained gained experience experience in in the the oil oil and and gas, gas, nuclear, nuclear, and pharmaceutical industries, he currently works for and pharmaceutical industries, he currently works for Spirit Spirit Energy Energy as as aa senior senior occupational occupational hygienist hygienist within within exploration exploration and and production. production. As As aa widely widely experienced experienced occupational occupational hygienist, Neil has a long list of post hygienist, Neil has a long list of post nominals: nominals: MSc, MSc, CFFOH, CFFOH, CMIOSH CMIOSHand andAFAAM. AFAAM. Talking Talking about about this this latest latest phase phase in in his his career, career, Neil Neil said: said: “I “I feel feel honoured honoured and and proud proud to to be be appointed appointed BOHS’ BOHS’ President President for for the the forthcoming forthcoming term. term. When When II began began my my career career in in occupational occupational hygiene hygiene nearly nearly 20 20 years years ago, ago, this this position position is is something that had never crossed my mind, and if asked, something that had never crossed my mind, and if asked, II probably probably would would have have thought thought itit unachievable. unachievable. However, However, via via my volunteering work with BOHS over recent my volunteering work with BOHS over recent years, years, and and networking networking with with occupational occupational hygienists hygienists and and other other professionals from many and varied backgrounds, professionals from many and varied backgrounds, I am now Technology Technologyin inaction: action: attendees attendees learning learning about about the relationship between betweenrobotics robotics and and occupational occupational hygiene hygiene

Simon Festing Festing added added his his own own congratulations congratulations on on Neil’s Neil’s Simon appointment: “BOHS’ Presidents play a pivotal role in helping appointment: “BOHS’ Presidents play a pivotal role in helping deliver our our strategy, strategy, and and in in attaining attaining our our overarching overarching vision vision deliver to achieve achieve aa healthy healthy working working environment environment for for everyone. everyone. to Once more, more, we we are are privileged privileged to to have have aa President President of of such such Once high calibre, calibre, and and II look look forward forward to to working working with with Neil Neilover overthe the high forthcoming year.” year.” forthcoming

`

Fun and and games games at at the the gala gala dinner dinner

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OH2018 OH2018 Overview Overview Marie Marie Townshend Townshend

We We are are delighted delighted at at how how successful successful this this year’s year’s conference conference was and extend our thanks to everyone who was and extend our thanks to everyone who helped helped in in the the organisation, the committee for putting together organisation, the committee for putting together an an interesting interesting and and varied varied programme, programme, to to all all the the sponsors sponsors and and exhibitors exhibitors and and everyone everyone who who attended. attended. We We hope hope you you enjoyed attending the event as much as we did enjoyed attending the event as much as we did hosting hosting it. it.

With With gorgeous gorgeous weather weather on on our our side, side, we we could could take take advantage advantage of of the the outside outside terrace terrace at at the the venue. venue. Feedback Feedback from delegates was positive with over 96% from delegates was positive with over 96% of of respondents respondents stating stating that that they they would would recommend recommend the the event event to to aa colleague colleague and and 100% 100% having having their their expectations expectations of of networking networking opportunities opportunitiesmet met or or exceeded. exceeded.

presentations from from Geoff Geoff McDonald McDonald (Byrne (Byrne Dean), Dean), Janet Janet presentations Leung (Shell Health) and Peter Baldwin (HSL) followed by Leung (Shell Health) and Peter Baldwin (HSL) followed by discussion and questions led by Bharat Patel. discussion and questions led by Bharat Patel.

Simon Simon Harmer Harmer opened opened the the conference conference delivering delivering this this year’s year’s Warner Lecture titled ‘Trauma to Triumph’ discussing Warner Lecture titled ‘Trauma to Triumph’ discussing how how he he received received his his injuries injuries in in Afghanistan Afghanistan and and his his rehabilitation. rehabilitation. Four Four keynote keynote sessions sessions were were delivered delivered by by Gerard Gerard Hand Hand (GPH (GPH Safety), Safety), Richard Richard Heron Heron (BP), (BP), Stewart Stewart Cruikshank Cruikshank (Pristine (Pristine Condition) Condition) and and Philip Philip Baker Baker (The (The Association Associationfor for Project Project Safety).

Safety).

The gala gala dinner dinner included included entertainment entertainment from from William William The Shakespeare and Anne Hathaway, a disco, an apothecary Shakespeare and Anne Hathaway, a disco, an apothecary cocktail bar bar and and the the ever-popular ever-popular casino casino tables. tables. AA big big thank thank cocktail you to all those who bought casino money and raffle you to all those who bought casino money and raffle tickets—you raised over £1,600 for the Mavis Nye tickets—you raised over £1,600 for the Mavis Nye Foundation.

Foundation.

The The President’s President’s session session took took the the form form of of aa panel panel discussion discussion under the heading ‘How to Profit Through under the heading ‘How to Profit Through Worker Worker Health Health Protection’ Protection’ with with three three short short 10 10 minute minute ‘TED ‘TED Talk’ Talk’ style style

There were were over over 45 45 session session speakers speakers with with presentations presentations on on There topics including legionella, exposure measurement, topics including legionella, exposure measurement, managing skin skin exposure, exposure, innovation innovation and and physical physical agents. agents. Six Six managing workshops took place over the three days giving delegates workshops took place over the three days giving delegates aa more interactive interactive experience experience including including future future manufacturing manufacturing more techniques and managing skin exposure.

Thanks to Robin Robin techniques and managing skin exposure. Thanks to Smith and Alex Wilson for putting together yet another great Smith and Alex Wilson for putting together yet another great IGNITE session with attendees stating that it was excellent!

IGNITE session with attendees stating that it was excellent!

Thanks again again to to everyone everyone involved involved for for making making OH2018 OH2018 such such Thanks success and and II look look forward forward to to seeing seeing all all of of you you in in Brighton Brighton aa success next year! year! Presentations Presentations and and aa selection selection of of photographs photographs are are next available on the OH2018 website. available on the OH2018 website.

Attendees enjoying enjoying a a break break in in the the summer summersunshine sunshine Attendees

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OH2018 AGM During the first few months of the year, members participated in a nomination and balloting process to appoint new members of the Council and Faculty of Occupational Hygiene Board. The results were formally announced at the AGM which took place on 18 April.

On the day of the meeting, Neil Grace took on his new role as President whilst John Dobbie joined the Council as President-Elect. Amanda Parker and Alex Wilson continue in their roles as Honorary Treasurer and Honorary Secretary respectively. Helen Pearson will undertake a second term of three years as an Ordinary Council Member and will be joined by Kelvin Williams and Jonathan Grant. We also welcome Duncan Smith and Jason Hodgkiss to the Faculty of Occupational Hygiene Board, along with Carol Bladon who has been elected to serve a second term.

We would like to thank all of those who took part in the election process and all members who participated in the ballot.

Immediate Past-President, Karen Bufton, handing over the Presidential Medal to President, Neil Grace

All smiles with the 2018-2019 Presidential Trio: Karen and Neil with John Dobbie

AT A GLANCE 2018-2019 BOHS Council Members • President: Neil Grace • Immediate Past-President: • • • • • • • • •

Karen Bufton President-Elect: John Dobbie Honorary Treasurer: Amanda Parker Honorary Secretary: Alex Wilson Council Member: Kelvin Williams Council Member: Carol Bladon Council Member: Duncan Smith Council Member: Helen Pearson Council Member: Jonathan Grant Council Member: Jason Hodgkiss

2018-2019 Faculty of Occupational Hygiene Board Members • Carol Bladon • Duncan Smith • Jason Hodgkiss • Len Morris • Neil Pickering • Robert Preston • Sarah Leeson 8 | www.bohs.org | Issue 3

Members of the Council 2017-2018: Neil Pickering, Amanda Parker, Alex Wilson, Simon Festing (CEO), Neil Grace, Karen Bufton and Tracey Boyle The AGM in session

OH2018 Winners We were delighted to present awards to five individuals who excelled in various areas: • Christian Dolphin was the recipient of the David Hickish Award, which is given annually to the best candidate in the Diploma of Professional Competence in occupational hygiene examinations.

• Emma Pennington was the winner of the 3M Young Hygienist Award which aims to recognise talent and stimulate professional development in young hygienists. Read her time at OH2018 on page 19.

• Robert Preston won the Ted King Award which is awarded to the best candidate in the Certificate of Operational Competence in occupational hygiene examinations.

• John Lyons was bestowed with the Trevor Ogden Award where the recipient is nominated by BOHS staff in recognition of their outstanding voluntary contribution to the Society.

• Steve Hails (not pictured) was appointed an Honorary Fellow, offered to only a small number of respected individuals who have demonstrated significant effectiveness in working, influencing and advocating for improvement in worker health protection at a national level. Read more of Steve’s work on page 12.

David Hickish Award winner: Christian Dolphin

3M Young Hygienist Award winner: Emma Pennington with Rob Brill (3M)

This year, our scientific poster contest was sponsored by OHSL and we received 25 entries - thank you to everyone who submitted their works. We are incredibly pleased to say that Laurie Southgate was the winner where he showcased his findings on “creating learning experiences to mentor health and safety practitioners”.

The study looked at a contractor that had 17 health and safety team members with limited education in health and safety, who were constructing a copper mine in Kazakhstan. The team members were required to be trained to anticipate, recognise, and effectively control hazardous exposures. Areas in focus were the application of weekly training workshops, mentoring strategies, and the use of task observations and reflective practice for continuous professional development.

Many congratulations, on your success, Laurie!

Ted King Award winner: Robert Preston

Read about our award winners overleaf.

Scientific poster winner: Laurie Southgate

Trevor Ogden Award winner: John Lyons

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Our OH2018 Award Winners A A massive massive congratulations to our award winners who who received received their prizes at the gala dinner!

Winner of of the the David David Hickish Hickish Award Winner

Winner of the the Ted Ted King King Award Award

Mycurrent currentrole roleisisHealth Healthand and Hygiene Hygiene Specialist Specialist for for Essar Oil UK My based at at Stanlow Stanlow Manufacturing Manufacturing Complex Complex in Ellesmere based Port. No No two two days days are are the the same same in in this this role role where I am Port. responsible for advising and managing all aspects of responsible for advising and managing all occupational hygiene hygiene on on aa Upper Upper Tier Tier COMAH COMAH site spanning occupational 770 hectares. hectares. My My career career started started working working as as an an MCERTS stack 770 emissionsconsultant consultant with with the the occasional occasional request request to assist with emissions basicoccupational occupationalhygiene hygiene surveys. surveys. basic

My current role is Occupational Occupational Hygienist Hygienist Team Team Leader Leaderfor forSOCOTEC SOCOTEC UK Ltd based at Bretby.

Bretby. This This role role involves involves managing managing aa team team of of ten ten (including myself) occupational occupational hygienists hygienists based basedin inthe theMidlands Midlandsand and South Yorkshire areas. areas. AA key key element element of of this this role role isis planning planning work, work, providing assistance assistance and and guiding guiding the the team. team. The The team’s team’s goal goalisisto tobe be able to provide the best best advice advice to to clients clients regarding regarding monitoring monitoringand and controlling exposure exposure to to harmful harmful agents agents in in the the workplace. workplace. My My responsibilities also involve involve ensuring ensuring our our team teamhas hasaccess accessto tothe thebest best current technical and and professional professional development development opportunities opportunities as as well well as as most most up-to-date up-to-date equipment equipment and and information. information.

Christian Dolphin Christian

My desire desire to to help help was was sparked sparked from from the the working working conditions conditions My observed on the first few surveys and also from knowing firstobserved on the first few surveys and also from knowing firsthandthe thecosts costsof ofworkplace workplace ill ill health. health. My My father father has has asbestosis asbestosis hand and noise-induced noise-induced hearing hearing loss loss both both preventable preventable as as we we all all and know. From From my my first first wood wood dust dust survey survey in in 2005 2005 to to this this point point know. today, occupational occupational hygiene hygiene provides provides aa meaningful meaningful and and today, satisfying career full of variety, gadgets, science, conversation satisfying career full of variety, gadgets, science, conversation andproblem problem solving solving all all with with the the end end game game of of maintaining maintaining and and and protectingthe thehealth healthof ofworkers workers –– what’s what’s not not to to love? love? protecting

Robert Preston Preston

In In 2011, 2011, before before II joined joined the the occupational occupational hygiene hygiene (OH) (OH) team team at at SOCOTEC SOCOTEC (then (then ESG), ESG), II was was working working in in an an adjacent adjacent environmental environmental compliance compliance department department when when friends friends and and work work colleagues colleagues suggested I apply for a trainee position in OH. I really suggested I apply for a trainee position in OH. I really enjoyed enjoyed(and (and still still do) do) getting getting out out onto onto lots lots of of different different sites, sites, learning learning about about the the new new processes, processes, meeting meeting clients clients and and workers workers and and using using new new equipment. equipment. Each Each day day is is different different and and II am am learning learning about about different different monitoring and control strategies all the time which hopefully monitoring and control strategies all the time which hopefullyIIcan can also also pass pass on on to to clients clients and and colleagues. colleagues.

Read more more about about the the winners winners of Read of each each of of the the prestigious prestigious awards awards and celebrate celebrate their their wonderful and wonderful achievements achievements with with us us 10 | www.bohs.org | Issue 3 10 | www.bohs.org | Issue 3

the coming years.

I look forward to seeing how occupational hygiene will develop over

carpet for another year when the consultation is due again! regarding their health and safety cannot be brushed under the have made a difference to the lives of the workers and that issues unannounced, it’s a great feeling to come away knowing that I Although I can literally see hearts sink when I rock up to site degrees_of_compliance_with_health_and_safety_law. across an enormous variation in health issues and varying woodworking companies to massive chemical industries. I come get to visit a very wide variety of premises, ranging from small completing a Regulatory NEBOSH diploma, in between courses I Although at the moment, my time is largely dedicated to Inspector. hygiene team for the Health and Safety Executive as a Specialist manufacturing facility, I came to work in the occupational around Europe, in three consultancies and a huge steel and eight years later, having worked as a technician travelling I basically fell into the profession knowing nothing at all about it thought ‘Hmm, that sounds interesting. I’ll apply!’ across a vacancy for an occupational hygiene technician and In 2010, after being made redundant from a job I loved, I came

educational needs for both the UK and overseas. coaching tutors and exploring the changes required to meet today’s developing syllabuses for new subjects, developing exam questions, support function to the BOHS qualification team and can range from Qualifications Technical Advisor. This work provides an essential Examinations Technical Coordinator and more recently as quickly developed into an almost full-time role as Asbestos retirement. At the same time, I started work with BOHS and this the workplace and this work has continued throughout my several other companies to manage the control of asthmagens in On retirement, in 1996, I was immediately asked to consult for focused on the control of potential asthmagens in processes. colleagues all over the world on a range of problems, but mainly worldwide basis. This involved working with many friends and delivering the occupational hygiene service to support Unilever on a professional occupational hygienist, I took on the responsibility for systems to prevent occupational ill health. Then, developing as a more closely with people in the field and being able to design the work environment. This welcome opportunity involved working direction to move to evaluating the effects of air contaminants in laboratory research on air contaminants, I was offered a change of As an Analytical Chemist at Unilever Research, carrying out career journey. of my contribution to BOHS and this made me reflect upon my I was very proud to receive the Trevor Ogden Award in recognition

Emma Pennington

John Lyons

Winner of the 3M Young Hygienist Award

Winner of the Trevor Ogden Award

Winner of the 3M Young Hygienist Award

Winner of the Trevor Ogden Award

In 2010, after being made redundant from a job I loved, I came across a vacancy for an occupational hygiene technician and thought ‘Hmm, that sounds interesting. I’ll apply!’

I basically fell into the profession knowing nothing at all about it and eight years later, having worked as a technician travelling around Europe, in three consultancies and a huge steel manufacturing facility, I came to work in the occupational hygiene team for the Health and Safety Executive as a Specialist Inspector.

I was very proud to receive the Trevor Ogden Award in recognition of my contribution to BOHS and this made me reflect upon my career journey.

Emma Pennington

Although at the moment, my time is largely dedicated to completing a Regulatory NEBOSH diploma, in between courses I get to visit a very wide variety of premises, ranging from small woodworking companies to massive chemical industries. I come across an enormous variation in health issues and varying degrees_of_compliance_with_health_and_safety_law.

Although I can literally see hearts sink when I rock up to site unannounced, it’s a great feeling to come away knowing that I have made a difference to the lives of the workers and that issues regarding their health and safety cannot be brushed under the carpet for another year when the consultation is due again!

John Lyons

As an Analytical Chemist at Unilever Research, carrying out laboratory research on air contaminants, I was offered a change of direction to move to evaluating the effects of air contaminants in the work environment. This welcome opportunity involved working more closely with people in the field and being able to design systems to prevent occupational ill health. Then, developing as a professional occupational hygienist, I took on the responsibility for delivering the occupational hygiene service to support Unilever on a worldwide basis. This involved working with many friends and colleagues all over the world on a range of problems, but mainly focused on the control of potential asthmagens in processes.

On retirement, in 1996, I was immediately asked to consult for several other companies to manage the control of asthmagens in the workplace and this work has continued throughout my retirement. At the same time, I started work with BOHS and this quickly developed into an almost full-time role as Asbestos Examinations Technical Coordinator and more recently as Qualifications Technical Advisor. This work provides an essential support function to the BOHS qualification team and can range from developing syllabuses for new subjects, developing exam questions, coaching tutors and exploring the changes required to meet today’s educational needs for both the UK and overseas.

I look forward to seeing how occupational hygiene will develop over the coming years.

Issue 3 | www.bohs.org | 11

New Honorary Fellow appointed

At OH2018, we announced the appointment of our latest Honorary Fellow, Steve Hails. Steve is the Director of Health, Safety and Wellbeing at Tideway, which is the organisation responsible for delivering the Thames Tideway Tunnel – London’s so-called new ‘super sewer’. A highly qualified health and safety professional, Steve has more than 20 years’ experience in developing and implementing effective strategies, policies and systems in the engineering and construction sectors. He is a Chartered Member of IOSH, a Practitioner of IEMA, and has a Masters degree in Health, Safety and Environment.

Speaking about the appointment, Steve said: “I’m delighted to have had the opportunity to contribute to the valuable work that BOHS undertakes, by supporting its Breathe Freely in Construction campaign. Breathe Freely has not only helped shine a much-needed spotlight on the health risks faced by construction workers, but also - most importantly it offers a wide range of free, expert training materials and information: this is accessible to all and can be downloaded from the website, offering valuable resources for managers and supervisors in Karen Bufton, BOHS’ President 2017 – 2018, the construction industry. Tools such as these can congratulates Steve Hails on his award make a significant contribution to helping both employers and employees understand health risks in a construction environment, and subsequently, to improve working conditions and working practices via suitable, inexpensive, effective and practical exposure control measures.” Steve added: “I’m extremely pleased to have been involved with the Breathe Freely campaign, and to see the real and practical difference it can make to improving health in the construction industry. As an experienced health and safety professional of over 20 years, I’m passionate about worker health protection, and I appreciate the chance of closely collaborating with BOHS to help make a real difference.”

BOHS’ Honorary Fellowships are offered to only a small number of respected individuals, who have demonstrated significant effectiveness in working, influencing and advocating for improvement in worker health protection at a national level. The aim of these appointments is to formalise an ongoing relationship, and for BOHS and the Honorary Fellow to work together with mutual recognition, towards the charitable goals of the Society and its vision of ‘a healthy workplace for everyone’.

Karen Bufton, Immediate Past-President of BOHS, said: “It’s only fitting that Steve has been honoured for the significant and valuable contribution he has made to BOHS and occupational hygiene during the past few years, especially in terms of his involvement in the Breathe Freely in construction campaign. We are privileged to have benefited from his extensive experience and expertise, and his involvement in groups such as: Health in Construction Leadership Group, and Mates in Mind. As a third sector organisation, BOHS is heavily dependent on assistance from volunteers to help us achieve our goals, so that we can continue to make a difference to worker health protection.” Neil Grace, newly appointed President of BOHS for 2018 – 2019, has also commented on the appointment: “I’m delighted with Steve’s appointment - he is a great advocate for worker health protection. His wide experience in the arena of health and safety, along with his drive to effect continuing improvements, will help benefit BOHS in terms of achieving our aims of a healthy working environment for everyone.”

For more information about the Breathe Freely campaign, and to find out about roadshows, events, or how to get involved and support the campaign, head to www.breathefreely.org.uk. If you’d like to register your interest to volunteer for, or support BOHS activities, email membership@bohs.org.

12 | www.bohs.org | Issue 3

OCCUPATIONAL HYGIENE SOCIETY OF IRELAND The Chartered Society for Worker Health Protection

Exposure Control and Containment III 17 & 18 October 2018 Crowne Plaza Blanchardstown, Dublin

Conference Rates

Following the success of the events in 2014 & 2016, the British Occupational Hygiene Society and the Occupational Hygiene Society of Ireland are collaborating to organise a two day conference on Exposure Control and Containment in October 2018.

The focus of the conference is in the specification, design, installation, testing, maintenance and operation of engineering control measures to minimise health risks in the workplace. It is aimed at people involved in these aspects of exposure control and will appeal to delegates from various industry sectors small and large including electronics, engineering, construction, pharma, fine chemicals, oil and gas, education and other sectors.

An exhibition will run alongside the conference and we would like to hear from companies who would be interested in sponsoring and/or exhibiting at this joint event.

Can you afford not to attend?

For more information please contact the BOHS Conferences Team on +44 (0)1332 250713 or conferences@bohs.org or visit www.bohs.org/conferences-events/

BOHS/OHSI Member Rate

£330 + VAT

Non Member Rate

£380 + VAT

Dinner

£55 + VAT

• Visit www.bohs.org to book your place

Exhibitor Packages Stand Package

£750 + VAT

• 3m x 2m exhibition space • One delegate place including entry to all conference sessions and daytime refreshments • Company profile (150 words) and logo within the conference programme • Company logo on holding slides throughout the conference • Invaluable networking opportunities

Insert in Delegate Pack

From £200 + VAT

• Sponsors can provide for example; A5 flyer, company brochure, memory stick, pen, product sample etc.

All prices are subject to UK VAT at 20%.

From receipt of payment for any of these options your company will be included in all pre and post conference publicity.

Cancellations received in writing before Friday 7 September 2018 will be entitled to a refund after deduction of an administrative fee. No refunds will be issued on cancellations received after this date.

OH2018 And just like that, OH2018 zoomed past us! In this special edition, we bring you a wrap-up of some of the sessions that took place at OH2019 - we’d like to extend our thanks to Adrian Parris, Alex Wilson, Phil Roberts, Peter Stacey, John Dobbie, Marian Molloy and John Cherrie for sharing their reviews of conference sessions. Remember to check out www.oh-2018.com for presentations and photos. Why not sign up for OH2019 in Brighton next year? We’d love for you to join us by the seaside and for some tasty Brighton rock!

Session 3c Legionella (Adrian Parris)

Legionella sessions appear regularly on the annual conference programme and are well attended - this year was no exception. The first three talks presented by Megan Canright and Alan Sanderson provided a multi-national overview of legislative requirements regarding legionella control. The first destination was the USA with Megan giving an overview of recent developments in Legionella-related standards and guidelines. Legislation has been slow to develop in the USA even considering a clear upward trend in reported cases since 2000. New York State saw the first regulation introduced in 2015/16 following a series of outbreaks but continues to see an upward trend in cases with 1,009 cases in 2017 - a 38% increase. There are a range of guidelines and toolkits available from a number of societies and associations such as the American Industrial Hygiene Association. An overview was given of the main requirements and what new publications are expected over the few years.

A quick hop over the Atlantic and Alan presented an overview of European Regulations and Guidance. Firstly, there was a look at the UK which has well-developed regulations and guidance borne on the back of a series of outbreaks - between 250 and 450 cases are reported annually and there appears to be a clear seasonal trend. Other European countries such as Italy and France have a higher number of reported cases and some countries are further ahead from a regulation perspective than others.

Finally, we travelled to Australia where Megan covered Ryan Milne’s slides, which showed a fragmented picture with a split between locally and state managed regulations. There is a wide variety of legislation and over 25 guidelines from individual territories, but still cases of Legionnaires’ disease are on an upward trend. Interestingly, the incidence of Legionella longbeachae is similar to pneumophila, with the former typically associated with aerosols generated from handling compost. Finally, we were introduced to the recent publications and legislation on the topic since 2015 and the scope of what they cover.

To complete this part of the session, Megan then displayed an informative table which showed the variability of control requirements across different countries. It clearly showed a wide range of strategies and the question was asked: is there a case for a standardised approach?

The final presentation in this session was by myself which discussed as part of improvements in Legionella control at Sellafield Ltd, an onsite microbiological laboratory had been commissioned. The lab provides the routine analysis of water systems as well as supporting project work in helping understand risk associated with our systems. This includes using the standard culture method as well as validating a number of rapid tests such as PCR and Legipid. Project work includes understanding makeup water quality and the microbiology of deadleg flushing. An overview was given of a project to understand the in-situ performance of a cooling tower treatment system by taking the tower off-line and dosing the basin with bacteria, passing through the treatment system and measuring the kill rate where a 99% reduction rate was observed.

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Jeremy Hadall presenting to delegates “Ricoco” - a collaborative robot arm

Session 3b Robots (Alex Wilson)

The future is bright, the future is exciting! OH2018 brought a different session exploring something new!

The world of manufacturing is dynamic and the technology used is continuously changing. With the transformation in the sector, the health risks and wider health and safety risks are also changing. Some of the old hazards still remain but we are now faced by new hazards. However, exposure control and risk reduction options are also evolving. As well as utilising new technologies to improve manufacturing, we can use them to control or even eliminate the health risks posed by certain processes. Control by design is an optimum step of exposure control as you design out the hazard and risk prior to putting this into operation.

The future technologies session allowed us to explore how new designs and equipment are providing opportunities to do more and discover the world of manufacturing and health and safety. The session was expertly supported by colleagues Ross Trepleton (Chief Engineer of AM Pre-Production) and Jeremy Hadall (Chief Engineer of Robotics in IA) from the Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC) in Coventry. The MTC was established in 2010 as an independent Research and Technology Organisation (RTO) with the objective of bridging the gap between academia and industry – often referred to as ‘the valley of death’. Over the last five years, the MTC’s rapid growth has seen the expansion with the construction of three more facilities, including the opening of the National Centre for Additive Manufacturing and the Lloyds Bank Advanced Manufacturing Training Centre.

MTC’s vision is to inspire Great British manufacturing on the global stage by providing integrated manufacturing system solutions for customers large and small, across sectors as diverse as automotive, aerospace, rail, informatics, food and drink, construction/civil engineering, electronics, oil and gas, and defence.

Demonstrating the capabilities of 3D printing, a 3D heart was printed for delegates to observe

Some of the key technology areas developed within the MTC include:

• Additive Manufacturing (3D printing) • Intelligent Automation (Robotics) • Digital Engineering (Industry 4.0)

The teams from the MTC definitely inspired the delegates with fantastic presentations of how technology is transforming and how we can manufacture products moving from our traditional methods to new ones. The best thing was we then had an interactive session where delegates were able to go and explore some of this technology hands-on. The additive polymer machines were printing components as the teams explained their operation. Certain products were handed around to show the strength properties of printing multiple materials in the same print to add strength. We also had a visit from “Ricoco” which was a small 2mx2m collaborative robot arm. The team showed how robots can be set up to perform tasks with safety limits. Delegates had the opportunity to collaborate with Ricoco and move his arm around, showing the moving ability and potential for tasks.

Some great questions were asked to both teams about the technology and how certain health risk considerations have been taken into account. The aim was to have an interactive session and we certainly did. There is a keen interest from the MTC experts to continue this discussion and the delegates were also interested to make sure that occupational hygiene are part of these discussions.

Issue 3 | www.bohs.org | 15

Session 7b RPE (Phil Roberts)

For the second year running, this session was packed to the rafters and the audience and presenters were equally committed to an excellent workshop. The session was seamlessly chaired by the new BOHS president, Neil Grace, and opened by Mike Clayton of HSE’s Science Division.

Mike introduced some questions which were to be discussed in groups in the second half of the session. The questions were: 1. When recommending the use of RPE, how confident are you with your choice of RPE for the exposure situation you are managing?

What sources of information do you use to help inform your decision-making process?

2. What do you see as the biggest challenges/issues in implementing an effective RPE programme?

3. What do you think would assist you in managing/implementing an effective RPE programme?

HSE Specialist Inspector, Phil Roberts, then presented on the new guidance document relating to face fit testing. Phil explained how the new document will replace the existing OC 282/28 and will consist of two parts. The first part will be an Industry Guidance Document (INDG) and will provide information on what employers need to do to comply with the law and is written by HSE. The INDG will provide information for employers and face fit testers and includes details on suitable test methods. Phil also emphasised that a ‘Pre-use wearer seal check’ (sometimes referred to as a ‘fit check’) is something that must be done each time tight fitting respirators are donned and is NOT a replacement for a recognised Fit Test.

Frank Angear of BSIF delivered a talk on part 2 of the new guidance which explains how fit tests are done. This includes more details on the actual recognised test methods and is authored by BSIF on behalf of the fit testing industry. Frank also provided a very useful update on BSIF’s Safety Supplier Scheme and the excellent work of the Fit2Fit programme. Mike Clayton then finished the presentations with an update on new ISO standards that will change a lot of the terms we currently use in the RPE world, for example Assigned Protection Factors (APFs). Mike also discussed new face fit test methods and the validation process that needs to be completed before they can be accepted as a recognised method. Margaret Wade of HSE then facilitated the workshop part of the session where participants answered the questions introduced earlier by Mike. The feedback and involvement of the audience was excellent and all of the points were recorded.

Any opinions expressed in this article are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the views of HSE.

Mike Clayton

Delegates at the RPE session Katharina Bluemlein

Session 3a Sampling (Peter Stacey)

Measuring or modelling lower concentrations of hazardous aerosols to comply with regulatory requirements was the topic of three of four presentations in the sampling session at this year’s BOHS conference. These presentations highlighted the growing demand to assess lower concentration exposures.

Katharina Bluemlein (Franuhofer) discussed the potential emissions of sulphur dioxide (SO 2) from badges added, as a biocide, to thousands of shoe boxes during shipping. The team at Franuhofer examined worse case conditions of temperature and humidity on the release of SO2.

Modelled and reported exposures seemed to be within exposure limits for shipping container work. Gordon Smith (HSE) reported on the development of a sensitive measurement method for monitoring workplace exposure to diacetyl using Tenax thermal desorption tubes and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Diacetyl can cause disabling lung disease and is on the fourth list of Indicative Occupational Exposure Limit Values. High concentrations of diacetyl were found in some industrial coffee processing operations and during handling of diacetyl flavourings.

Peter Stacey (HSE) presented work on dust losses found in 25 mm diameter filter cassettes for the GK 2.69 respirable sampler. The GK 2.69 has an adaptor for this filter size and provides a flow rate of 4.2 L/min-1. HSE method MDHS 101 for respirable crystalline silica only measures dust collected on the filter so it’s important to avoid losses. Conductive propylene cassettes showed minimal sample losses but polystyrene cassettes showed losses of 20 to 30%. For the fourth and final presentation, Brent Altemose (Safe Bridge Consultants) asked the question, ‘how many samples should we collect?’ and, in particular, how to improve confidence with limited log normally distributed data. Interestingly, Brent included the specificity of the sensitivity of the test as two factors. Six samples were proposed for baseline assessments with expected exposures more than 0.1x the exposure limit.

Any expressed in this article are 16 | opinions www.bohs.org | Issue 3 the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the views of HSE.

Session 8c Review and Improvement (John Dobbie)

There were two presentations in this session – “Strategic Partnerships for Reducing Health Risks in the Workplace” from Craig Hendry and Miranda Moons both from ExxonMobil; and “Industrial Hygiene Capability Decision Matrices” from Lucetta Holderness and John Dobbie both from BP. The first session dealt with a new approach to health risk reduction initiated across ExxonMobil.

It started by acknowledging that all too often, despite there being a clear understanding of the control hierarchy, the default choice for tasks is the use of PPE. It then went on to explain the journey on exposure control reduction since the 1980s and explained the factors behind the reduction.

Global and UK data on work-related diseases showed that these combined factors, however, did not reduce the risk to zero and the final gap closure was seen as requiring a change in culture. Traditionally, the classical approach to industrial hygiene (IH) was perceived as IH “owning” the process from risk recognition through to control solution decisions. In the new model, the concept of a “focused risk reduction method” is introduced, which puts the “ownership” more into the business line and builds collaboration between IH, the business and other stakeholder partners.

Lucetta Holderness

The differences from this to the traditional IH process introduce three new concepts: site effectiveness data, strategic partnerships and risk discussion and ownership - all of these are used in a collaborative effort to help the business arrive at pragmatic prioritisation of the control strategies to be adopted. The presenters focused on four case studies to demonstrate the effectiveness of the overall process. Four questions were asked at the end of the session, which were all effectively answered and showed that the session had been of real interest to the audience.

The next session discussed a tool developed by the BP Central IH Team to help with their IH Capability programme. In BP, the Central Health and IH teams have collaborated since 2006, to track the development and posting of all the Health & IH staff across the globe. In BP Health, Capability is considered as a function of competence and capacity, where the capacity is the number and makeup of the Health and/or IH teams deemed appropriate to the needs of any part of the BP organisation, which can mean anything from a retail service station to a major oil refinery or petrochemicals complex. For the Health disciplines, excluding IH, the Group Health team very early on developed a matrix for capacity decisions based upon the nature of the business, the number of employees and the distance (time) from the site or business to be able to access external healthcare services.

In IH, it was recognised that a similar capacity decision matrix needed to be developed and, whilst needing to be risk-based, also needed to consider other important business or site criteria. The session described the current tool, which is in the process of being refined and validated across all BP’s different businesses. It has currently been successfully validated in a number of Upstream Regional Businesses. The tool is based upon an Excel spreadsheet and the session “walked” through the process of determining the final recommended IH team size and make -up. The session provoked interest both during the session itself and also through discussions at the conference later.

A copy of the tool and a brief guide on its use can be sent to anyone interested, by emailing either lucetta.holderness@uk.bp.com or john.dobbie@uk.bp.com.

Marian Molloy

Session 5c Exposure Measurement

(Marian Molloy)

This was a three-speaker HSE session on exposure measurement in agriculture and food manufacturing. Marian Molloy told us about the latest HSE research on the use of low-dust flours to reduce workers’ exposure to flour dust; this is of great importance as flour dust is a leading cause of occupational asthma in Great Britain. Low-dust flours are normally used as dusting flours or release flours to prevent dough sticking to work surfaces and conveyor belts. HSE has carried out testing on two types of flour which are marketed as low-dust flours.

One low-dust flour had oil added to it to bind the finer flour particles together and the second lowdust flour had been heat-treated which resulted in the agglomeration of the finer dust particles.

Both processes result in an overall larger particle size which is less likely to become airborne and most importantly, has less potential to be breathed in as a greater percentage of the particles will exceed the inhalable range of particle size, which is <100microns. HSE has carried out personal dust exposure monitoring during repeated simulated baking tasks and found significant reduction in exposure when substituting normal baking flour with low-dust flour.

Amy Gyte told us about the difficulties in measuring exposures to organic dusts and bioaerosols in indoor livestock farming and how this is especially problematic in wet environments when cleaning down animal housing facilities. The use of a sampling pump set at four litres/min and button sampler positioned on the workers lapel as well as the use of GoPro cameras was identified as the most appropriate sampling strategy for this high risk task.

Howard Mason told us about the new laboratory analyses developed to measure exposures to fish and shell fish exposures. Both fish and shellfish are well known to contain major allergens which are an occupational risk to workers. Until now, there has been no reliable methods to measure atmospheric levels of fish allergen from work-tasks and processes, but for some high-value, high volume processed species (salmon, cod, haddock and trout) this is now feasible.

Any opinions expressed in this article are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the views of HSE.

Issue 3 | www.bohs.org | 17

Session 8b Managing Skin Exposure (John Cherrie)

Kate Jones

At OH2018, we had around 50 people attend a workshop on simple ways to assess and control skin exposure.

We had three speakers who kicked off the discussions. Sue Hambling from the HSE provided an excellent introduction to the importance of managing skin exposure, and methods of assessing and controlling exposure.

Through the EPIDERM / THOR scheme at the University of Manchester, it is estimated there are around 1,200 new cases of work-related skin disease identified each year in Britain; around 75% are contact dermatitis and about 16% were skin cancers. However, it is recognised that these figures are an underestimate of the true health burden because many cases of skin disease are not picked up in the surveillance scheme. For example, it is estimated there are almost 3,000 cases of non-melanoma skin cancer occurring each year, but most of these are not attributed to work and get missed.

A major risk for skin disease is wet working. Sue told us that, whilst water per se is not a substance hazardous to health, the way in which it can be used i.e. frequent and prolonged contact with skin means it can create a risk to health and so fall within the scope of the COSHH Regulations. In addition, degreasers, cutting fluids, oils, metals (e.g. chromium, cobalt and nickel), epoxy and acrylate resins, detergents and a host of other chemicals may give rise to dermatitis or can contribute to systemic exposure. To avoid dermatitis, the HSE suggests we follow the ‘APC approach’ which aligns with the Hierarchy of Control. The APC approach is: * Avoid contact with substances that cause dermatitis * Protect your skin * Check for early signs of dermatitis on your skin Several practical solutions to avoid contact with substances were presented, including using a ‘Safe Working Distance (SWD)’ where tools (such as brushes, scoops, tongs etc.) are used to put distance between the exposure and worker and reduce contact with the chemicals.

Gloves and other protective clothing have a role in protecting workers from skin exposure. For gloves to be effective, the type of glove selected must be suitable for the substance, task and environment, and the user trained to check, use and store/dispose of the glove appropriately. The HSE provide guidance on their website (www.hse.gov.uk/skin/professional/managerisk.htm).

Kate Jones from the HSE’s Laboratory provided an introduction to the role of Biological Monitoring (BM) in assessing skin absorption. She described how BM can be used to assess intake from different routes of exposure, including skin, and to assess the effectiveness of personal protective equipment and other control measures. Kate showed data from a controlled experiment where the subjects had been dosed with a pesticide by ingestion and skin and the internal exposure monitored post-exposure by urinary BM. Excretion was lagged for dermal exposure compared to ingestion, which kinetically is similar to inhalation, because of the delay as the chemical diffuses through the skin barrier. The kinetic profile from serial BM measurements coupled with dose modelling is one way to infer what proportion of exposure arises from the skin.

We discussed a case study where workers were laying floor screed. In the initial scenario, they were working on their hands and knees with no protective equipment. MDI (methylenediphenyl diisocyanate) concentrations in air were low and the urinary MDA (methylenediamine) measurements, the MDI metabolite monitored, were much higher than would be expected from the air concentrations suggesting a predominant skin exposure route. Discussion in the room suggested that changing the work method to involve a long handled tool would increase the SWD and, as a bonus, improve the ergonomics of the task. Another case study looked at the problem of relying on gloves as a control measure. Changing the gloves to a more chemically resistant and disposable type initially reduced workers’ exposure to MDI glue significantly. However, further monitoring showed that these initial gains were not maintained long-term and that regular awareness raising and supervision is needed to maintain protection in use.

John Cherrie

The final presentation was from John Cherrie from IOM (Institute of Occupational Medicine) and Heriot Watt University. He spoke about modelling exposure and uptake through the skin, and described the use of simple model tools to help understand the importance of skin exposure. He highlighted two models used to estimate external exposure: The ECETOC TRA (European Centre For Ecotoxicology And Toxicology of Chemicals - Targeted Risk Assessment) used in REACH and the RISKOFDERM tool, which is incorporated in the Stoffenmanager.nl tool. Both tools have strengths and weaknesses, but they are simple to use and produce helpful output, although the output needs a little effort to provide useful information for a hygienist. The TRA has been validated in a research project carried out by Hans Marquart and others from TNO in the Netherlands. This showed that the tool generally over predicted exposure, as it was intended to do.

We also discussed simple model tools that are available to estimate uptake from chemicals through the skin, taking account of evaporation of volatile agents. The model tool IH-Skinperm is freely available from the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) website and is simple to use.

John ran through an example where he used RISKOFDERM to estimate the total amount of a rubber compound containing toluene that could land on the hands and forearms of a worker, and then used IH-Skinperm to estimate intake. The calculations suggested that a large proportion of the toluene would evaporate and the initial estimate of around 330mg of toluene landing on the skin might only result in about 25mg being systemically absorbed. Compared to the estimated inhalation intake, obtained by multiplying the measured air concentration by the estimated volume of air inhaled during the task, the likely skin uptake was small.

References

• Cocker J, Biological Monitoring for Isocyanates. The Annals of Occupational Hygiene 2011 Mar 1; 55(2):127–131. https://doi.org/10.1093/annhyg/meq083 • Marquart H, Franken R, Goede H, Fransman W, Schinkel J. Validation of the dermal exposure model in ECETOC TRA. Annals of Work Exposures and Health 2017 Jul 25; 61(7):854–71. https://doi.org/10.1093/annweh/wxx059

• IH-Skinperm http://www.aiha.org/get-involved/VolunteerGroups/Pages/Exposure-Assessment-Strategies-Committee.aspx 18 | www.bohs.org | Issue 3

All’s well that ends well Emma Pennington

Following a pretty hectic journey to Stratford-upon-Avon which involved major road closures, getting lost in the dark and relying on three satnavs all at once, I eventually arrived at the Crown Plaza Hotel and settled down for the evening in preparation for the week ahead.

Having only ever attended one day of a BOHS conference back in 2010 when my career in occupational hygiene was just beginning, I didn’t really know what to expect. Back then, everything went over my head and I could only hope that one day, it would all make sense!

Day one of the conference opened up with a magnificent presentation from Simon Harmer, a former soldier who had sustained terrible injuries from an explosion during his time in Afghanistan resulting in amputation of his legs. His enthusiasm and humour set the tone for the day and I was in awe of his positivity – I also enjoyed the gory photos!

Day two was equally as interesting, and the atmosphere was helped along by the beautiful sunshine. I particularly enjoyed the fast paced IGNITE session and being a dog owner, I was interested to find out that mould-sniffer dogs actually exist... might have to teach my pug a new trick but I think she’d be disappointed that no cheese was involved.

Unfortunately, I missed the early morning fun run, but managed to make time in the afternoon to wander along the banks of the river and take in the lovely picturesque scenery.

However, getting back to the hotel proved to be exciting by the formation of a road-block of swans trying to stop me getting to the gala dinner.

Speaking of which, no-one couldn’t have wished for a better day – a great turn out, beautiful setting and gorgeous weather. The ballroom was stunningly decorated with subtle blue-white lighting at the tables, which lit up the copious number of wine bottles that were prepped and ready to be guzzled by gala attendees!

Luckily, not being a fan of the limelight, the award ceremony took place prior to dinner so my nerves didn’t have the chance to get the better of me. I had managed to duck and dive from the photographer all week so far, but as they said in the ye olde Shakespeare days, ‘Alas!’. My time was up and I was very publically ‘papped.’ My award was very gratefully received, and I could then relax and catch up with old friends and make new ones in the process.

On day three, I was greeted with a few ‘green’ faces sported by those who had enjoyed the gala dinner a little too much!

What I found throughout the conference was that I struggled to choose which sessions I most wanted to attend. The options were really varied and catered for all interests. As well as there being sessions on general hygiene subjects as I expected, there was also quite a big focus on tackling mental illness and personal wellbeing which included a nutritional element and a speech from an ex-weightlifting champion.

Feeling all inspired, more knowledgeable and positive, I set off for home with a smile on my face and even opted for an apple and oatcakes to fuel my journey rather than the usual ‘sharing’ sack of chocolate buttons. Many thanks to IOM (Institute of Occupational Medicine) and BOHS!

UPCOMING BOHS EVENTS The 9th International Conference on the Science of Exposure Assessment

24-26 September, Manchester Conference Centre More details at www.x2018.org

ECCIII Exposure Control and Containment III

17-18 October, Crowne Plaza Blanchardstown, Dublin More details at http://bit.ly/2GstOyA

Faculty of Asbestos Assessment & Management Conference

8-9 November, Park Inn Manchester More details at http://bit.ly/2rRlVNT

Issue 3 | www.bohs.org | 19

Celebrating the life of

Hedley Williams

by Chris Beach

D. Hedley Williams

8 March 1926 - 24 March 2018 Former BOHS Honorary Lifetime Member Hedley Williams passed away peacefully just after his 92 nd birthday in Hertfordshire. He was formally a Chartered Chemist, a Member of the Royal Society of Chemistry and Occupational Hygienist. Ironically, Hedley’s father was an asbestos salesman which effectively cemented Hedley’s future career many years later!

After completing National Service with the Royal Signals, Hedley attended Swansea University graduating with a degree in chemistry. After numerous jobs, he travelled to Trinidad with the Central Electricity Generating Board (CEGB). When he returned to the United Kingdom, he moved to London and continued to work for the CEGB until his retirement. During this time and still as a chemist, he became involved in the asbestos industry as the hazards of insulation in power stations became apparent.

In 1977, he co-authored the CEGB Publication Fibre Identification Using Optical Microscopy which became the industry standard for asbestos identification until MDHS77 was published in 1999.

Later, he qualified with an MSc in Occupational Hygiene at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

Hedley regularly attended the annual BOHS conferences and I am reliably informed that probably more memorable for him and his colleagues were the London regional meetings, especially those at CEGB HQ near St Paul’s!

Additionally, I am also told that Hedley was extremely knowledgeable about asbestos, and very generous in sharing that knowledge. However, most of all, he was the essence of a professional gentleman and a great joy to spend an evening in his presence.

After Hedley retired from the CEGB, he continued to work as a private consultant and travelled to various parts of the world on that basis.

Finally, Hedley was a great sportsman and an ardent supporter of Welsh rugby and was Honorary Vice President of both London Welsh Rugby Club and Hertford Rugby Club.

Hedley is survived by his wife Anne, daughter Ruth, sons Michael and David and three grandchildren.

20 | www.bohs.org | Issue 3

Head Office Round-Up The latest news in the Qualifications department is that we have completed our second pilot of P408 – Identification and Quantification of Asbestos in Soils qualification. Once we have reviewed the results and participants’ feedback, we will then complete the final stages of development and confirm an official launch date so watch this space!

If you are interested in acting as an assessment marker, exam question writer or question reviewer with us, please feel free to contact us on qualifications@bohs.org. This is an ad-hoc paid role which you can do from the comfort of your own home.

The Conferences and Events team have been busy with OH2018 and in the process of organising our first ever FAAM conference (page 2), ECCIII (page 13), X2018 (page 27) and, of course, OH2019 (back cover). More details of these events are on the adverts in the magazine. Information of other events such as regional meetings are listed on our website.

We have finished the renewal period and thank you for renewing your membership. We have also been processing new memberships. As it stands today, our new asbestos faculty, FAAM, is a community of over 200 members and counting! It has been a great start. If anyone is interested in joining or requires more information about memberhsip of FAAM please contact us at iamfaam@bohs.org or visit the website at iamfaam.org. The Membership Team are always looking for ways to improve the services we provide—if you feel there is anything we can do to improve your experience, let us know at membership@bohs.org.

In May, the Breathe Freely in Manufacturing roadshow took place in South Wales. Kelvin Williams, BOHS Member, chaired the event, which received very positive reviews from the attendees. The European Agency for Worker Health Protection has funded two new manufacturing roadshows: Barrow-in-Furness (12 July) and London (date tbc). Two new construction roadshows will also take place in autumn. Keep an eye out for more details. BOHS also took part in the Safety & Health Expo in London. This year, apart from our speaking slots and exhibition stand, we also organised a speed networking session. More details about our participation will be in the next issue of Exposure. Finally, we would like to take this opportunity to say a massive ‘thank you’ to Mike Slater who recently stepped down as Chair of Breathe Freely for his invaluable contribution to the campaign.

A number of us from Head Office managed to attend OH2018, catching up with members and training providers. It was great to see that the other workplace health aspects that overlap closely with occupational hygiene – wellbeing and occupational health – were also included in the talks, helping to promote worker health protection on a broader scale. We hope to see you all again next year!

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info@casellasolutions.com Issue 3 | www.bohs.org | 21

got a first interview. The role seemed really interesting, with onshore terminals and offshore rigs, I was called for a second interview, and was offered the job. I am just about to move jobs in July…more about that at a later date.

Meet the President

Current job title and organisation for which you work?

Senior Occupational Hygienist, Spirit Energy Exploration and Production.

What_‘A’_levels_and_first_degree_did_you_take?

None! Left school at 16 with a handful of “O” Levels. I hold an MSc in Occupational Hygiene (Distinction – University of Manchester), Diploma of Professional Competence in Occupational Hygiene and a NEBOSH Diploma (CMIOSH).

What was the first job you got when you finished your fulltime_education?

Started and completed a four-year apprenticeship as a vehicle coach builder for Merseyside Passenger Transport in Liverpool.

When and why did you become interested in occupational hygiene?

Throughout the nineties, whilst developing my career path, I gained a greater insight into the world of health and safety (H&S) and ever since, have always been involved as a rep, manager or adviser within the scope of H&S. However, when working for GSK (Glaxo Wellcome as it was then), I had the chance to become a technician as part of the onsite hygiene team, and the rest as they say is history.

How has BOHS or BOHS membership (including its predecessors)_helped_you_in_your_career?

Since 2000, I was an Affiliate within the GSK group, then as a Licentiate in 2003, Member in 2010 and then Chartered Fellow in 2016. I was very lucky - when I started in hygiene within GSK, there were three hygienists on site. During that time, I was a sponge by not just learning from their knowledge and experience, but also from their peers and contacts in the profession. From then, I realised that “networking” within BOHS was and is essential to support your ever-increasing knowledge and competence base within the profession. When I joined the oil and gas fraternity, I started attending the Energy Institute hygiene meetings. This was probably a huge turning point in my BOHS career as the guys and girls I met back in 2008 are still great friends and colleagues who have supported me throughout my career!

So, the answer is yes, it has helped!

How_did_you_get_your_current_job?

I saw the vacancy advertised in my local paper, applied and 22 | www.bohs.org | Issue 3

Describe_a_typical_day_in_your_job.

Back to the old cliché, there isn’t one. Even when your day is planned with: meetings, training, briefings, monitoring, report writing (boo!) health risk assessment support, investigations, audits or writing policy and procedures, it can change at the drop of a hat.

What has been the most satisfying accomplishment of your career_to_date?

Probably a simple one: we had been struggling with contractors and vendors coming to site with “poor” COSHH assessments which is normally a glorified safety data sheet!

I’m sure we all have this problem. A few years ago, we had an incident and we realised we needed a new philosophy for shutdowns and turnarounds in terms of managing hazardous substances. I then introduced “what good COSHH looks like”, offering a new simple format in the shape of an editable proforma, free of charge to all contracting companies. This allowed their competent assessors to be guided and supported to keep things simple but not simplistic (thanks Mike Slater), ensuring their updated assessments are suitable and sufficient. It worked and our assessments have improved significantly, hence improving the level of awareness and control.

What has been the worst experience of your career to date?

Being asked to get involved in a plasma cutting booth project when the booth was already built and ready for commissioning. On my first (of many) visits, I walked in and felt like crying. They had a downdraught system when they needed a captor system. Addtionally, the outside of the booth had smooth sides whilst the insides had nice little shelves for all your ornaments. I had been invited when they had realised there was a problem with the ventilation design.

So, the old story goes, why wasn’t I invited at the design stage?

What is your ‘pet subject’ in occupational hygiene?

That’s a tough one and has changed over the years. I’m more of a jack-of-all-trades than master of one but would probably pick out COSHH over asbestos or plasma cutting.

What do you enjoy doing when you’re not working?

My interests mainly revolve around my family in any spare time that I have. I am an avid runner with a bit of swimming and cycling thrown in. I enjoy hill walking, playing music (acoustic/electric guitar) and reading.

Football or rugby (and which team)?

Football: Liverpool Football Club.

Favourite_film?

Another tough one. With the family it could be Jungle 2 Jungle, My Big Fat Greek Wedding or any Harry Potter.

However, personally, it would be Band of Brothers (miniseries). It’s fantastic!

Favourite_book?

Easy! Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien. I first read it when I was 12 and have lost count how many times I’ve read it since.

The following article is an advertorial from Shawcity

Shawcity Announce New Partnership with HAVi Shawcity has just announced a new partnership with HAVi, the UK’s leading specialist in products and services for controlling and managing Hand Arm Vibration. HAVi will be an expansion to the vibration range in the Shawcity portfolio of monitoring instruments.

The HAVi range helps employers to quickly identify which tools, operators and processes are most likely to cause vibration issues, allowing the creation of risk assessments and appropriate corrective action to comply with the Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005.

Options include HAVi meters which attach to individual tools, the new HAVi watch which synchronises with each meter and the clever HAVi watch-charging dock.

The HAVi watch acts as an information messaging system for the user as well as a fully automated exposure data recording device. For every tool change, they synchronise the watch with the meter on the new tool to record vibration exposure specific to that tool.

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Data collected by the watch can be transferred to any mobile device and offers reports and analysis for individual tools, employees or even general trends.

Neil O’Regan, Shawcity’s Managing Director, commented: ‘The HAVi system sits perfectly within our existing range of vibration instruments and offers the best early indicator of issues which need further investigation and action.

‘The addition of HAVi works especially well for our customers as we can also combine the HAVi technology with our existing range of Svantek vibration measurement monitors (triaxial accelerometers) to offer the next level of vibration exposure data analysis’.

For more information contact Shawcity on: Tel: 01367 899419 Email: info@shawcity.co.uk.

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Campaign launched to tackle asbestos-related occupational cancer worldwide by Jasmeen Daji (IOSH) The UK, UAE, Ireland, Hong Kong and South Africa are just some of the countries where The Institution of Occupational and Safety Health (IOSH) has presented the asbestos phase of its No Time to Lose (NTTL) campaign since April. IOSH President Craig Foyle launched our latest campaign phase supported by the UK’s Asbestos Leadership Group, including organisations such as the British Occupational Hygiene Society (BOHS), Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and Unite the Union, on 9 April 2018 at BMA House in London. Over 70 delegates from leading businesses, academic institutions, professional and trade bodies, and unions attended and the speaker line-up consisted of experts from academia, medicine, occupational hygiene, safety and health, charities, and public relations. Professor John Cherrie Research Director at the Institute of Occupational Medicine (IOM) explained the global impact of asbestos stating that asbestos is the biggest occupational cancer killer, claiming at least 107,000 lives a year, with approximately 125 million people exposed to it worldwide. Currently, the largest producers of asbestos are Russia, China, Kazakhstan and India.

Mesothelioma UK’s Director of Services Liz Darlison highlighted that in Britain alone around 5,000 people die from work-related asbestos exposure. She talked about real life cases of tradespeople who have contracted mesothelioma in their work and the impact on their health and that of loved ones. To illustrate this, Liz presented a video case study of Andrew Burns, born in 1969, and diagnosed with mesothelioma after exposure to asbestos as an apprentice electrician in the mid 1980s.

Colette Willoughby, Principal Examiner (Asbestos) at BOHS stressed that asbestos is still present in residential and commercial buildings constructed or refurbished up to the year 2000, in at least 500,000 commercial buildings and one million domestic properties – and that it is a problem of the past, present and future. She asserted that managing asbestos does not have to be complicated if three simple principles are followed: establish if any asbestos is present, identify the risks presented and manage the identified risks to ensure nobody is exposed to asbestos. Colette also explained the role of BOHS’s Faculty of Asbestos Assessment and Management (FAAM) which aims to provide a home for the asbestos industry, by providing professional membership grades, continuous professional development and a strict code of ethics.

IOSH Vice President Michelle Muxworthy revealed findings from IOSH’s survey to 500 construction workers in the UK to understand the issues of asbestos management. Highlights included: • only 59% informed of asbestos risks and who have this reinforced regularly with training • 15% have never been informed • 23% say they have been exposed to asbestos • only 27 % say they have not been exposed • 32% have never checked the asbestos register before starting work on a new site, with 15% of these not knowing about the register • 18% said that if they found asbestos they would either be unsure or have no idea what to do Michelle explained that while the survey was conducted among construction workers, the risks of asbestos exposure are present across many workplaces. She then launched IOSH’s new free NTTL asbestos resource pack to help businesses raise awareness and manage asbestos exposure. We developed these resources in collaboration with NTTL supporter organisations, members from IOSH sector Groups, and industry experts. The asbestos resource pack consist of everything from factsheets, posters, pocket card and leaflets to films, presentations, infographics, case studies and ‘Duty to Manage’ flowcharts developed in association with UK’s Asbestos Leadership Group. These materials are available from the newly redesigned NTTL website: www.notimetolose.org.uk.

24 | www.bohs.org | Issue 3

Michelle also presented video case studies of people who have contracted mesothelioma because of asbestos exposure. One case study was 23 year old Danielle Smalley, diagnosed with mesothelioma after ingesting asbestos as a young child. Her case study highlights the fact that even through the UK banned asbestos in 1999, it remains an issue and can affect young people, too.

IOSH’s Public Relations Manager Simon Butt-Bethlendy explained how delegates can help spread the word and reach high-risk workers. He encouraged delegates to join the #NTTLasbestos social-media Thunderclap – this had 295 supporters sign up to it reaching almost half a million people – and follow @_NTTL on Twitter to share messages across social media. Simon also urged guests to sign up to the NTTL pledge and join 100+ forward-thinking businesses. The pledge is a six-point action plan which involves businesses committing to assessing the risks, developing and delivering a prevention strategy, briefing managers, engaging employees, demanding the same standards of their supply chain, and reporting on progress made.

Following the asbestos launch event in London, IOSH presented the campaign at its Middle East Conference in Abu Dhabi on 25 April, UAE. Charles Faulkner, an asbestos management specialist based in the UAE, joined Craig Foyle on stage to look at how organisations can ensure workers are not exposed to asbestos fibres. IOSH also launched Arabic NTTL asbestos resources at the conference. These can be downloaded from www.notimetolose.org.uk/morelanguages.

On 1 May, NTTL took centre stage at the International Congress on Occupational Health 2018 in Dublin. This gathering of the world’s most influential occupational health specialists happens only every three years. IOSH’s No Time to Lose campaign first featured in a central debate of the plenary sessions on the challenge presented by workplace carcinogens.

The ILO (International Labor Organization), WHO (World Health Organization), ISSA (International Social Security Association), EUOSHA, IARC (International Agency for Research on Cancer), ICOH (International Commission on Occupational Health) and IOSH were among organisations to take part in the global policy forum. The wide-ranging discussion touched on the many and varied issues in tackling occupational cancers. There was widespread consensus on the urgency to act now. “It’s high time for us all to act together to bring a difference,” said Dr Shengli Niu of the ILO. For the European Commission, tackling workplace carcinogens was “a priority”, said EU-OSHA director Dr Christa Sedlatschek. In a vote, delegates chose occupational carcinogen-exposure registers, the implementation of policy on prevention of occupational cancer and programmes on the elimination of occupational cancer as top priorities for discussion. Dr Kurt Straif of IARC, highlighted the knowledge gaps in occupational cancer. He stated that a shift in funding priorities has seen most of today’s research funding dedicated to genetic and personalised medicine, and basic and clinical medicine. IOSH Chair Dr Bill Gunnyeon presented No Time to Lose, highlighted during the session as an “excellent example” of an initiative to prevent work cancers with practical solutions. “The campaign cements specific actions which are critical to tackling occupational cancer,” said Hans-Horst Konkolewsky of ISSA. Over 250 organisations in 32 countries were now supporting the campaign, said Dr Gunnyeon. He stated No Time to Lose had reached more than 67 million people through media coverage. The IOSH Chair said “lessons had been learned” from the campaign, citing measurement of impact on behaviours as difficult and emphasising the alignment with other global initiatives is critical and engagement with policy-makers is challenging. No Time to Lose was also presented to delegates during a special session at congress, including contributions from Vincent Ho, Head of Corporate Safety at Hong Kong rail operator MTR, and John Gallagher, Adjunct Professor and Consultant Occupational Physician HSE, Cognate Health, UCC School of Public Health in Ireland.

NTTL asbestos will soon be presented at the Canadian Society of Safety Engineering (CSSE) Professional Development Conference and the Asia Pacific Occupational Safety and Health Organisation’s (APOSHO) Conference.

To find out how you get can get involved in NTTL asbestos, add your support and download free practical resources to manage asbestos exposure, visit www.notimetolose.org.uk. To keep up to date with the latest campaign news follow @_NTTL on Twitter.

Left image: NTTL Asbestos London Launch 2018 Right image: Dr Bill Gunnyeon presenting at ICOH 2018 Issue 3 | www.bohs.org | 25

SPE Event Summary Joy Isaiah (SPE) More than 780 attendees from 44 countries and 194 companies participated in the SPE (Society of Petroleum Engineers) International Conference and Exhibition on Health, Safety, Security, Environment, and Social Responsibility that took place 16–18 April in Abu Dhabi, UAE. Organised by the SPE, the three-day event returned to the Middle East region for the first time since 2006.

The keynote address was delivered by Abdulmunim Saif Al Kindy (Director and Upstream Directorate of ADNOC), followed by speeches from Abdulla Al Marzooqi (Conference Chair and Manager of the Group Health, Safety and Environment Unit at ADNOC) and Khalid A. Zainalabedin (SPE Regional Director for Middle East and North Africa at Saudi Aramco).

“We know that our commitment to 100% health and safety (H&S) is not only the right thing to do but the smart thing as it makes solid business sense, underpins ADNOC’s 2030 strategy to deliver a more profitable upstream, a more economic and sustainable gas supply, and a more valuable downstream,” said Abdulmunim Saif Al Kindy.

“Our industry is all about tackling challenges and turning them into opportunities, leveraging synergies, improving operating efficiencies, while never compromising on H&S, ultimately, the most essential enabler of a strong bottom line,” said Abdulla Al Marzooqi.

“The SPE continues to host this international conference with the firm belief that bringing together global professionals in all areas of health, safety, and environment to share their best practices, new technologies, new techniques, compliance strategies and community engagement can focus attention on H&S best practices that serve our industry and communities. By doing so, SPE 26 | www.bohs.org | Issue 3

continues our core mission of providing opportunities for enhancing the technical and professional competencies of our members by disseminating, and exchanging the technical knowledge required to meet the world’s energy needs in a safe and environmentally-responsible manner,” said Khalid A. Zainalabedin.

The event featured three days of plenary and panel sessions, technical sessions, knowledge sharing ePoster sessions, and a state-of-the-art exhibition featuring both regional and international companies who showcased their latest innovations, products, and services.

School and university students looking to embark on a career in the oil and gas industry participated in bespoke programmes and activities. The Energy4me student workshop focused on students aged 16 to 17, with the aim to engage them in STEM-related subjects. The university programme featured the events “Oil and Gas: Expat-ations of Living Abroad”, “Student Sustainability Challenge: Harnessing Sustainability through HSSE”, “SPE Cares x Emirates Environmental Group (EEG): One Root, One Communi-Tree” and and the Career Pathways Fair.

For more event information, visit www.spe.org/events/hse About the Society of Petroleum Engineers The SPE is a not-for-profit professional association and has more than 158,000 members in 143 countries engaging in oil and gas exploration and production. SPE is a key resource for technical knowledge providing publications, events, training courses, and online resources at www.spe.org.

Photo: inauguration of the exhibition

9th International Conference on the Science of Exposure Assessment MANCHESTER | UK | 24-26 SEPTEMBER 2018 REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN

Book your place at www.x2018.org

Conference Rates 24-26 September 2018 Delegate Type

Full Conference Early Bird*

The British Occupational Hygiene Society is hosting X2018, the 9th International Conference on the Science of Exposure Assessment.

BOHS Member

£500

£450

Speaker

£400

£400

Non Member

£600

£550

BOHS Student Member

£300

£300

This three day international conference will bring together the leading experts to exchange knowledge in exposure assessment sciences for human health studies. X2018 will contribute to the development of state-of-the-art methodologies and practices, and thereby improve our knowledge to effectively assess and control exposure to hazardous agents in the work environment, at home and elsewhere in the general environment.

Conference Dinner

£45

Cancellations received before 30 June 2018 will be entitled to a full refund, minus £100 administrative fee. Any cancellations received after this date will NOT be entitled to a refund but substitutions will be accepted.

Early Bird* - rates available until 30 June 2018.

Exhibitor Packages Stand Package

£1000

3m x 2m exhibition space One delegate place including entry to all conference sessions and daytime refreshments Logo and company profile in the conference programme Logo and link from the conference website to your website Listing in email campaigns and social media posts Logo on holding slides throughout the conference

Sponsorship Opportunities

Increase your conference presence to your target audience with one of the following: For any further information please contact Rachel Sipson, BOHS conference team: conferences@bohs.org +44 (0)1332 250713

HOSTED BY

The Chartered Society for Worker Health Protection

Advert in Programme

£500

Insert in delegate pack

£250

All rates and prices above are subject to UK VAT currently 20%

The Chartered Society for Worker Health Protection

SAVE THE DATE

1-4 April 2019 ®

BRIGHTON METROPOLE

BRIGHTON The Premier Conference for Occupational Hygiene in the UK

www.oh-2019.com