Committee

Dr John MacLachlan is currently a Senior Lecturer in Chemistry at Glasgow Caledonian University, with teaching and research interests in the analytical chemistry aspects of environmental chemistry and toxicology.  Specific research interests include the use of GC-MS and LC-MS (as appropriate) in the trace analysis of steroids in body fluids, and environmental pesticides and VOC’s.  Also he has research interests in the pedagogical aspects of science teaching.  He is Chair of the “Science” Suite of BSc (Hons) Programme Board and Assessment Board.  Also, he is a member of the Scottish Regional Analytical Division Committee of the RSC and an RSC journal referee.

Kate Jones is an analytical chemist working as a senior scientist for the Health & Safety Laboratory.  She has wide experience and expertise in the biological monitoring of organic compounds, this includes skills in: the use of specialist analytical techniques and instrumentation such as GC, GC-MS, HPLC and LC-MS; method development; toxicology; and gaining approval for and running human volunteer studies.  Kate has been heavily involved in developing biological monitoring for isocyanates in the UK as a means of assessing and controlling exposure.  As a senior scientist Kate has responsibility for undertaking her own research, supervising the research of others and organising the day-to-day running of the Biological Monitoring laboratory, ensuring that work is completed to stringent quality standards within the requisite turnaround times.  She is currently Chair of the annual conference scientific committee for the British Occupational Hygiene Society and their ambassador to South Africa.

Mr Hart spent the first 22 years of his career working for ICI, 17 years in their Central Toxicology Laboratory, working on a variety of studies primarily concerned with carcinogenicity and reproductive toxicity. More recently he has worked for two years as a toxicology advisor in an ICI business and then in a corporate role concerned with hazard communication safety data sheets etc. He then spent six year in a product regulatory role for a US based speciality chemical company (Morton International), before joining National Starch & Chemical (part of the ICI Group) in 1999, as a product regulatory manager, responsible for several polymer based businesses, covering industrial, food contact, coatings, water treatment and personal care products.

Dr Smith is a molecular toxicologist with research interests in environmental chemicals. In particular, he is interested in genetically variable mechanisms of how chemicals like polychlorinated biphenyls and polychlorinated dioxins interact with iron homeostasis to cause malfunctions of haem metabolism and tumours.  Dr Smith also has interests in the risk assessment of chlorinated insecticides like DDT and in the use of genetics and toxicogenomics in toxicology studies. He is currently head of the Genetic Susceptibility Group at the Medical Research Council Toxicology Unit, Leicester University and Honorary Lecturer in Pathology. Previous to joining the MRC, Dr Smith studied and worked in the biochemistry and chemistry departments of the Universities of Liverpool and Glasgow (respectively) on sterol metabolism in marine biochemistry and in human atherosclerosis.

George is based in Manchester and is now a member of the Health Protection Agency’s Regional Health Emergency Planning Function in the North West. He previously worked as scientific adviser at the Department of Health in London, working on mainly health and toxicological issues associated with landfills, incinerators, contaminated land and drinking water quality. Prior to that he was, for over a decade, the  head of the Toxicology Unit within British Coal‘s Occupational Health Service.   Currently, as Deputy Regional Health Emergency Planning Advisor, he contributes to the emergency preparedness and resilience across the whole NHS network in the North West. This involves auditing and performance management roles, facilitating the sharing of best practice, developing exercises and training initiatives to assist in the emergency response and recovery from incidents. Additionally he provides toxicological input to assist in the regional response to chemical incidents and health protection in respect of exposure to hazardous substances.

Mark Hosford is a toxicological risk assessor in the Human Health Science team of the Environment Agency’s Science Department. His current role is focussed on the assessment of risks to public health from chemical contaminants in soil and the development of health criteria values to be used in setting soil guideline values for priority contaminants. Previous to joining the Environment Agency, Mark worked in environmental consultancy and in veterinary pharmaceutical consultancy. Mark is a member of the British Toxicology Society and is a UK and European Registered Toxicologist.

Michael Quint is an Associate Director of Arup (www.arup.com) and has 20 years experience of assessing chemicals in the environment, with a particular emphasis on the risk assessment of contaminated land. He has worked for environmental consultancies in the USA and UK and has undertaken hundreds of projects for public and private sector clients. He has helped to develop government guidance in contaminated land risk assessment and has provided expert evidence to several Public Inquiries, a Civil Court, the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution and a Parliamentary Select Committee. His publications include "Environmental Impact of Chemicals: Assessment and Control" and he was a contributing author to Blackwells' "Handbook of Environmental Risk Assessment", the London Development Agency's "Investor's Guide to Brownfield Land" and Sweet and Maxwell's "Contaminated Land (Second Edition)". He is currently on the editorial board of "Land Contamination and Reclamation" and was a member of the Cabinet Office's SGV Task Force. He is a regular speaker at technical and legal conferences and has appeared as a guest on the BBC's Science View.

Dr Illing is currently a self-employed consultant in toxicology, microbiology and risk assessment for occupational health, product and process safety and environmental pollution and Principal of Paul Illing Consultancy Services. He is also an Honorary Lecturer in the Centre for Occupational and Environmental Health, University of Manchester, and occasionally lectures at University of Birmingham and University of Surrey. Currently, he is Royal Society of Chemistry representative on the UK Government Chemicals Stakeholder Forum.

Dr Hoskins is an independent consultant toxicologist specialising in occupational hygiene with particular reference to asbestos. Previously he had been a scientific staff member of the Medical Research Council but took early retirement from the MRC to develop his current work. He first joined the MRC at a unit in Sheffield and then later transferred to the Toxicology Unit in Carshalton, now relocated to the University of Leicester. In the MRC Toxicology Unit he latterly worked on the toxicity of mineral fibres and particulates and was in charge of the Unit’s inhalation facilities.

Dr Martin Rose works for the Defra Central Science Laboratory (CSL) in York where he leads work in the environment, food and health area.  He was recently appointed Head of the UK National Reference Laboratory for chemicals in food (as required by each Member State under EU legislation). He has been involved with research on dioxins 1985 and since then has expanded his interests into the wider environmental contaminants area, including emerging contaminants (organofluorine compounds such as PFOS and brominated organic contaminants such as flame retardants and brominated dioxins).  He is responsible for the application of analytical chemistry to multi-disciplinary research projects looking at aspects such as environmental pathways, remediation, risk assessment methodologies, emergency response, bioanalytical methods, ecotoxicology, reproductive toxicology and identification and prioritisation schemes for emerging contaminants.

Dr Roger Pullin is a Heath Policy Adviser with the Chemical Industries Association (CIA), the largest UK trade association representing the UK chemical industry. He is responsible for ensuring that the UK chemical industry is not unduly affected by proposed and existing UK & European policies in the areas of occupational health and environmental health. Part of his time is also seconded to the European Chemical Industry Council (Cefic) where he coordinates occupational health activities for member companies at the European level. Having worked for both the chemical industry (Stapro and Dow Corning) and the Chemical Hazards & Poisons Division of the Health Protection Agency, prior to joining the CIA, he now has an extremely wide perspective and understanding into commercial issues affecting the chemical industry and public health protection from chemical exposures. His doctoral research was into poly(itaconate) esters as marine antifoulants.

John has spent over 20 years in HSE as a regulatory scientist following a long spell in academia working on vector control and the effects of biting flies on livestock at the University of Wales Bangor. In the early 1990’s he rose to the position of principle scientist in charge of a team of environmental scientist assessing the risks of non agricultural biocides to the environment under the Control of Pesticides Regulations 1986. During this time he sat on a number of government expert panels such as the Advisory Committee on Pesticides Environmental Panel assessing chemicals in the environment and the ISO working group developing leaching rate methodology for antifouling paints. From 1995 till 2000 he was also the associate course leader and visiting lecturer at the University of Lancashire for an MSC course majoring in the principles of environmental toxicology. Resulting from this he was joint author of and academic text book which is still on the recommended reading list of a number of universities. After a period more recently as programme leader for the delivery of reviews to the European Commission under the Biocides Products Directive he has returned to his technical routes and now assesses the overall technical quality of these reviews to Europe and in particular manages the ecotoxicity, fate and behaviour environmental risk assessment and efficacy functions in these areas.

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