Leslie Bretherick received his BSc from the University of Liverpool in 1946. His career and interest in chemical and laboratory safety started during his employment with May & Baker (1945 -1960) where a personal injury and a near-miss motivated his lifelong interest in the prevention of chemical accidents. . From May & Baker he went to L. Light & Co before finally establishing himself at the BP Research Centre, Sunbury-on-Thames (1962), where he stayed till his early retirement in 1982.
His “tour de force” was Bretherick’s Handbook of Reactive Chemical Hazards, or “Bretherick” as it colloquially known. This work was more than just a book. By documenting hundreds of potential chemical hazards, it had and still has the potential to save lives since the first edition was published in 1975.
Bretherick was a most worthy recipient of the American Chemical Society’s (ACS) Chemical Health and Safety Award in 1988. He was acknowledged for his outstanding contribution to the field of chemical health and safety. He was also honoured by the Royal Society of Chemistry, when selected as one of the RSC’s “175 Faces of Chemistry” noting that his achievements were made despite poor eyesight (and eventual near blindness) and a stammer.
The Health Safety and Environment Division has established The Leslie Bretherick Memorial Lecture not only to recognise his pioneering contributions in the field of chemical and laboratory safety but also recognise the ongoing importance that laboratory safety plays in the field of chemistry. Despite advancements in laboratory safety systems and technology, “adverse reactions” still occur on a regular basis.
Abstract
Over the last 40 years chemical risk assessment has evolved from toxicology, reactivity and accident-informed rulemaking to incorporate concepts from risk communication, health economics, exposure science and artificial intelligence. With so many chemicals and chemical mixtures in common use today and present in various environments, is chemical risk assessment keeping up and how? This lecture addresses the evolution of risk assessment with case studies of a range of chemical hazards, situations and technologies. These include HAZMAT scenarios, low cost chemical sensors and the IoT, the overarching exposome paradigm and lessons from Australia’s engineered stone experience.
Background
Professor Dino Pisaniello is this year’s Leslie Bretherick Memorial lecturer.
Dino Pisaniello is Adjunct Professor in Occupational and Environmental Hygiene and retired founding Director of the OEH Laboratory and Adelaide Exposure Science and Health in the School of Public Health at the University of Adelaide. He is currently a Visiting Professor at the University of Indonesia and Chair of the College of Fellows of the Australian Institute of Health and Safety.
Dino has a PhD in chemistry and a Master of Public Health. He has published in excess of 250 scientific papers and technical reports. His publications address hazards in mining, manufacturing, defence, healthcare, agriculture, domestic and office environments, work and vision and climate change impacts on health. He has expertise in chemical hazard risk assessment and management, occupational and environmental epidemiology, intervention research, and health and safety education.
Dino is a Past President of the Australian Institute of Occupational Hygienists and, from 2001 - 2005 was the Chairman of the Congress of Occupational Safety and Health Association Presidents. He is a past Australian Secretary of the International Commission on Occupational Health, and past President of the Australian and New Zealand Association of OHS Educators.
Dino works with various professional and industry groups to translate evidence into policy and practice in order to advance the health and wellbeing of communities in Australia and internationally.
In 2023, Dino was a key member of the university team advising Safe Work Australia on the evidence base supporting a prohibition of engineered stone.
Event Organising Committee
Dr Scott Buckingham , Committee Member - Health Safety and Environment Division
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