Speakers
Speakers' Biographies
James Baldock, ERM
James is a Principal with ERM and has more than 15 years of professional experience in the fields of environmental site investigation, remediation and quantitative groundwater risk assessment.
James specialises in the management of large scale soil and groundwater remediation projects from design to validation. He has implemented numerous pilot and full scale remediation projects using a wide range of both ex-situ and in-situ source treatment and pathway intervention techniques, including groundwater recovery, dual phase extraction, soil vapour extraction, air sparging, in-situ thermal, chemical oxidation, bioremediation technologies, surfactant enhanced recovery and installation of reactive zones, applied to a wide range of organic contaminants and geological environments.
James also has extensive experience in using Triad approach real-time innovative site characterisation technologies to characterise contaminant distribution and extent, including the use of Gore Sorbers, Membrane Interface Probe and the first use of the Modified Waterloo Profiler in the UK.
Bob Barnes, Environment Agency
Bob Barnes is a Senior Scientist with the Environment Agency of England and Wales' Research and Innovation Department. Bob has an honours degree in applied geology and a masters degree in hydrogeology.
For 10 years he worked as the groundwater and contaminated land technical specialist for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight where in addition he acted as the waste technical specialist.
Following this Bob joined the then Groundwater and Contaminated Land Centre, now a part of the Research and Innovation Department. In addition to research on the land application of waste, he has undertaken research, and supported policy and operational colleagues in all aspects of the management of land contamination.
Jamie Cutting, Scott Wilson
Jamie initially gained a BSc in biochemistry from Leicester University and an MSc in pollution and environmental management from the University of Manchester before completing a PhD at the University of Bristol in environmental geochemistry. He joined the engineering consultancy sector in 2005, and has since been predominantly involved with the technical delivery of major remediation schemes. In particular, Jamie has used his expertise in analytical geochemistry to design and implement on site laboratories and field analytical solutions for rapidly assessing materials suitability for reuse.
During his time at Scott Wilson, Jamie has developed TIES, an integrated earthworks control system that enables rapid materials characterisation during the construction phase. TIES incorporates an MCERTS compliant on site lab, field analytics and a web enabled data management system allowing real-time decision making on site.
Jamie currently acts as the industrial advisor to the Environmental KTN FASA technology network for the implementation of field analytics within the UK contaminated land sector.
Liam Dunning , Manchester Metropolitan University / National Nuclear Laboratory - UK
Liam is currently completing his MSc at Manchester Metropolitan University studying Environmental Management and Sustainable Development. His MSc thesis has provided invaluable experience working with National Nuclear Laboratory (NNL) at Risley, Birchwood. Liam’s MSc project work aims to look into improving current GIS based estimates of the volumes of radioactive contaminated land to help justify remediation costs. Preliminary results were recently presented at a meeting at the Geological Society in London in September 2009, as part of the EMPower scheme.
Prior to undertaking an MSc Liam gained a first class BSc(hons) degree in Physical Geography, also from Manchester Metropolitan University. The degree provided a vast array of topics from quaternary studies through to consultancy management. Other valuable experiences gained at undergraduate level included six months spent on a student exchange programme based in Buffalo, NY. The final year of the BSc incorporated a thesis based on heavy metal contamination of the southern Pennines, a topic of which is relevant to my current studies within my MSc.
Gus Glover, Contaminated Land Officer, Preston City Council
A chequered career path to date which includes 12 years R & D in commercial vehicle paints, a spell as a butler to a titled lady and a brief period teaching English on Osaka, Japan.
I returned to university as a mature student in 1984 to study Environment Management and later Urban Geoscience.
I have spent the last 10 years at Preston City Council where my initial confidence in and enthusiasm for the UK Contaminated Land Regulatory System has been slowly eroded. My current interests are in the Triad approach and the use of Rapid Measurement Tools. I believe we must overcome our natural conservatism to positive change and embrace, in part at least, the USEPA’s learning experience both in assessment and the remediation of contaminated land.
During my time at Preston City Council I have developed a close working relationship with the Centre for Waste Management at the University of Central Lancashire, where we are exploring the possibilities for co-operative joint working and research into novel contaminated land assessment techniques.
I have also undertaken a further course of study at upper degree level in Sustainable Waste Management.
Colin Green: Managing Director QROS Ltd
Colin is a chemist with over 17 years experience of working on contaminated land analysis in laboratories and as a developer of numerous on site methods and test kits.
Colin was the technical director of Ensys Inc (subsequently SDI Inc) the pioneer of immunoassay based on site chemical analysis kits. At SDI, Colin introduced and modified into the UK other on site test kits such as Petroflag and Chemetrics systems. Other on site techniques and methods worked on include XRF, PID, FID, immunoassay, ASV, fluorescence and biosensors.
From 2000 – 20004, Colin was group technical director for MTI Pty Ltd an Australian company that developed on site heavy metal analysers and biosensor based analysers.
Colin set up QROS Ltd in 2004 in response to demand from environmental consultants and contractors for a professional on site chemical analysis service. Several of the methods used by QROS Ltd have been developed and validated by Colin over the last 3 years.
Tim Hart, founder of Cybersense Biosystems Ltd and EU FASA
Tim was the founder and CEO of Cybersense Biosystems Ltd (University of Surrey spin-out) and an inventor of ROTAS; a patented field-based technology to test for the total toxicity of soil. He also filed other patents in the area of soil extraction and data management tools for environmental analysis. Whilst in Cyberense, Tim’s research and commercial interests included the application of integrated analytics (combined field and lab testing; Triad Approach) to deliver more efficient contaminated land work. He is was the founder and Secretary of FASA (Field Analytical Suppliers Association), chaired the EU Triad Community of Practice, and sat on the Science Advisory Board for the First US National Triad Conference. He has a PhD in soil microbiology and BSc in Botany and Microbiology. Cybersense was sold in late 2008 and Tim went onto pursue other interests.
He spent 18 months in Isis Innovation Ltd as a Consultant, focusing on assignments to support start-up teams in the commercialisation of a wide range of technologies from across the world. In July 2009, he secured investment from Hong Kong for a new University of Oxford spin-out, Zyoxel Ltd. This business is commercialising microbioreactor technology from the University of Oxford for 3D cell culture. Tim is retained by Isis as an Associate Consultant, is Non-executive Director of another technology business and runs his own consultancy company.
Tim retains a passion and enthusiasm for the technologies he was involved with in Cybersense and the opportunities for development within the contaminated land sector.
Ian Heasman, Taylor Wimpey
Coming from an earth sciences background, Ian has twenty years experience in industry, consultancy and academia within the area of environmental assessment and management. Ian’s main area of expertise is brownfield regeneration, focusing on site characterisation, risk assessment and remediation, as well as policy and legislative matters.
Ian’s career started at Imperial College and with environmental consultancy practices ERM and then RPS. For the last twelve years he has been working within the construction sector, initially within civil engineering. Ian is currently the Brownfield Remediation Manager for Taylor Wimpey UK Ltd, the UK’s largest house builder. He represents his company at national and international forums including NICOLE, SAGTA, the HBF and with government. He is a Chartered Environmentalist (C Env) and a SiLC (Specialist in Land Condition).
Holger Kessler, British Geological Survey
After completing his degree in Physical Geography in Frankfurt University (Germany) Mr Kessler joined the BGS as a Quaternary Survey Geologist in August 1998 and until 2003 carried out primary geological surveying in Norfolk and Yorkshire.
At an early stage of his career he was trained in GIS and 3D modelling and has become one of BGS’s experts in these fields especially with respect to urban geology, superficial deposits and soil. This has led to his involvement in numerous thematic surveying and modelling projects covering almost all Quaternary terrains across the UK, in particular Cheshire, Yorkshire/ Humberside, the Wash, Norfolk and Suffolk.
One of his main achievements over the past 8 years was to oversee the testing, development and implementation of the geological modelling software GSI3D as a BGS corporate tool and methodology for the systematic construction of geoscience framework models. Mr. Kessler has become an internationally recognised figure in his field and since 2007 is in charge of Geological Modelling systems development at BGS.
Paul Naithnail, Director, University of Nottingham Masters in Contaminated Land Management
Paul is Professor of Engineering Geology at the University of Nottingham and Managing Director of Land Quality Management Ltd. His research, teaching and consultancy interests span the spectrum of risk based contaminated land management and sustainable urban regeneration. His team have developed decision support tools for site investigation design, human health risk assessment and remediation strategy selection. LQM are known for their work in training regulators and consultants and in peer reviewing countless reports for local authorities and developers. They pioneered the use of bioaccessibility in UK human health risk assessment and worked with CIEH to publish new generic assessment criteria for 82 substances in July 2009.
Paul is involved in a number of professional and industrial fora. He chairs IAEG Commission C20 on Risk Based Land Management. Paul is a Specialist in Land Condition (www.silc.org.uk) and, as a Chartered Geologist, represents the Geological Society on the SILC professional and technical panel. He is also a member of the UK Health Protection Agency’s Contaminated Land Risk Advisory Forum and is a director of CABERNET (www.cabernet.org.uk) – Europe’s sustainable brownfield regeneration network. He has been nominated to deliver the Geological Society’s 10th Glossop Lecture and to receive the Glossop award in November 2009.
Mike Quint, Environmental Health Sciences
Mike has over 20 years experience of assessing hazardous chemicals in the environment, with a particular emphasis on the quantitative risk assessment of soil, water and air pollutants. Graduating from Oxford University in 1987, he spent five years working in environmental consultancy in the USA, before returning to the UK in 1992. Since then, he has undertaken numerous projects for public and private sector clients and has helped to develop government guidance in the UK and Italy. Mike has extensive experience of assessing environmental contaminants and his technical skills range from toxicological assessment to environmental audit. A registered expert witness, he has provided evidence to 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 and Management, the London Development Agency’s Investor’s Guide to Brownfield Land and Sweet and Maxwell’s Contaminated Land (2nd Edition). He is on the editorial board of Land Contamination and Reclamation and was a member of the Cabinet Office’s Soil Guideline Value 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 Nick Smith, UK / Manchester Metropolitan University UNIGIS
Nick is a Chartered Geologist with nearly 14 years of post-graduation experience, a Chartered Scientist, a Fellow of the Geological Society of London, a European Geologist (with the European Federation of Geologists), and a member of the Commission for Management and Application for Geological Information (CGI - within the International Union of Geosciences (IUGS)).
Nick’s experience includes four years postgraduate research (as both a PhD graduate research student and research fellow), a year as a petroleum geologist in a commercial geological consultancy outside the nuclear industry, and seven years in the nuclear industry (with BNFL and Nexia Solutions). He holds a BSc (Hons) in geology (Keele University), and a PhD in stratigraphic evolution, 2D / 3D modelling, sedimentology, basin analysis and structural geology (also from Keele University) and is working towards an MSc in Geographical Information Science in his spare time (with Manchester Metropolitan University UNIGIS programme).
Nick’s principle areas of expertise are in structural geology, sedimentology, stratigraphic modelling and basin analysis, palaeogeographical and palaeoenvironmental reconstruction and geophysical investigation and interpretation of the subsurface (including interpretation of shallow and deep high resolution seismic reflection and refraction profiles, and interpretation of microgravity, resistivity, electromagnetic and ground penetrating radar surveys). Nick is also a technical specialist in the area of geological and geoenvironmental subsurface and surface characterisation of contaminated land, including the investigation and characterisation of geology of contaminated sites, including potentially radiologically contaminated land.
Nick’s other specialist area is in Geographical Information Systems (GIS), the utilisation of GIS within environmental, contaminated land, geological and hydrogeological areas, and the integration of GIS with 3D and 4D geological modelling.
Nick’s principle role in NNL’s Modelling and Environmental Management Team is to provide leadership and expertise in all geological aspects of site characterisation and site investigation, geological interpretation and conceptualisation, 2D and 3D modelling of bedrock and superficial geological sequences. Apart from being Technical Lead in geology, Nick is also Technical Lead of the GIS capability within the team.
Dr Gary Wealthall, British Geological Survey
Gary is a Principal Researcher and leads the Groundwater Pollution Team at the British Geological Survey. He has almost 20 years experience in contaminant hydrogeology research and practice. His research interests are in the application of process-based research to advance conceptual understanding of pollutant behaviour in heterogeneous geological systems for site evaluation, risk assessment, site restoration and performance verification. Recent advances include the development of methodologies for reduction, quantification and communication of uncertainty in contaminant hydrogeology.
Gary is a visiting lecturer at the University of Sheffield and an invited lecturer at the University of Cranfield. He is an external examiner (PhD) at the University of Cambridge, University of Edinburgh and the University of Western Australia (Perth).
He is the author of numerous peer reviewed publications and technical documents for DNAPL site characterisation and remediation, including a co-author of the Environment Agency practitioner guidance “An Illustrated handbook of DNAPL transport and fate in the subsurface”
Paul Wilkinson, British Geological Survey
Paul Wilkinson is a geophysicist with 5 years’ experience in the theory and analysis of geoelectrical imaging as applied to site investigation and monitoring. He recently managed a research project into the use of automatic remote geoelectrical monitoring of the remediation of a contaminated land site.
