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Expert has investigated many process related industrial accidents (fire, explosion, toxic release etc), the best known of which was Buncefield, where he was one of two external experts relied on by the owners of the
facility to assist with root cause analysis and to provide a theoretical explanation for this apparently unprecedented vapour cloud explosion. His (confidential) report on the latter came to similar conclusions as, but
preceded by several months, that of the official Major Incident Investigation Board.
Prior to setting up his consultancy, he had spent five years as a post-doctoral research fellow in the combustion physics team of Professor Felix Weinberg FRS at Imperial College, carrying out research on ignition and
flammability limits of flammable gas/air and vapour/air mixtures.
He has advised many clients on the safe storage, handling and processing of hazardous chemicals, and provided expert evidence relevant to process safety in civil and criminal proceedings and in public inquiries in
the UK, US, Canada and Australia. He is currently a member of an International Electrotechnical Commission Working Group, formed to develop a standard for the safe substitution of potent greenhouse gases by
flammable refrigerant (propane) in room air conditioners.


Expert has carried out all stages of risk assessment for the oil and gas, chemical, power generation, hazardous waste and other high hazard industries, from chairing HAZID (hazard identification) and HAZOP (hazard
and operability) studies through the various stages of QRA (quantified risk assessment) to CBA (cost/benefit analysis) and application of acceptance criteria.
He is a member of the IChemE Loss Prevention Panel and has taught modules in risk assessment, mostly at postgraduate level, at several universities in the UK (Sheffield, Loughborough, Greenwich) and abroad
(Cyprus, Hong Kong). He was a co-founder of AGEL-CBI Ltd, a pioneering consultancy in Eastern Europe specialising in process risk assessment.
His research includes participation in pioneering work on behalf of the EU on quantifying risks from major accidents to the environment, which formed the kernel of a book he subsequently edited and co-authored, as
far as he knows still the only practical guide to the technical, legal and insurance aspects of environmental risks from industrial disasters. Expert also co-authored a book used by the insurance industry for EML
(Estimated Maximum Loss) calculations relevant to fire and explosion in the oil and chemical industries.


Expert has investigated and provided expert evidence on many alleged industrial injuries resulting from inhalation or dermal exposure to industrial chemicals, both in the workplace and following emission into the
environment. He has also assisted ... COSHH

Incident investigation - examples:
Modelled fire, explosion and marine pollution aspects of one of the largest oil tanker casualties, Greece, for West of England P&I.
Investigated explosion in a university laboratory fume cupboard, finding conclusive evidence of causation in unauthorised experiment.Regulatory compliance - examples:
Co-wrote COMAH Safety Report for Qatargas South Hook Terminal, Milford Haven, UK.
Developed pilot information system for hazardous inventories in EU TACIS project: Strengthening the State Environmental Inspectorate of Ukraine.
Process risk assessment- examples:
Chaired HAZOP of Ecopetrol Merox unit, alkylation plant, Colombia.
Produced risk analysis of storage/handling of petroleum products, ammonia and explosives for World Bank funded port extension, Port Louis, Mauritius.Occupational exposure assessment - examples:
Assessed worker exposure to endotoxins in metalworking fluid aerosol, implicated in causing outbreaks of serious respiratory diseases.
Assessed dermal exposure of divers to chlorinated solvents released in their vicinity. Environmental exposure assessment - examples:
Quantified the exposure of members of the public to hydrogen sulphide and other noxious gases from a chemical plant during an emergency venting.
Modelled the chronic exposure of nearby to smoke from 'pushing' operations of a coke works that had ceased operations. Land use planning near hazardous installations - examples:
Advised developer of possible alterations to its project near a gasholder so as to lower individual and societal risk to within the regulator's requirements.
Supported developer at public inquiry, with consequence analyses of credible worst-case scenarios at neighbouring oil and chemical storage terminal.Airborne pollution modelling - examples:
Quantified the risk to a food producer of airborne tainting from a spill of volatiles at a proposed neighbouring chemical waste treatment facility.
Modelled dispersion and deposition of acid smuts from a power station onto leaf crops grown in its vicinity; statistically linked emission events to crop damage.