10 QUESTIONS


10 QUESTIONS WITH... STEVE HANKIN


Each month, we ask a health and safety professional our 10 Questions. This month, we chatted to Dr Steve Hankin Senior Consultant in Risk Assessment and Director of the Analytical Division at IOM.


Q1


WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST JOB? My first job was as an


Epidemiologist at Health Protection Scotland, dealing with everything from chemical spills in pharmacies to the Polonium-210 poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko. Before that, I used to shoot lasers at airborne particles.


Q2 Q3


HOW DID YOU GET INTO THE HEALTH AND SAFETY


INDUSTRY? I started my career looking at exposures to hazardous materials, first in research, then in public health protection for the NHS and now in the occupational and regulatory settings at IOM.


IF YOU COULD HAVE ANY SUPER-POWER FOR A DAY


WHAT WOULD IT BE AND WHY? Initially I was thinking to fly, as looking down on the world from above is an amazing sight, but let’s make it being as fast as Quicksilver in Marvel’s The Avengers, so I could get a day’s work done in a nanosecond and then have time to fly a drone camera.


Q4


HOW WOULD YOU LIKE TO IMPROVE THE HEALTH AND


SAFETY INDUSTRY? Health and safety needs to be seen as having a positive influence on the confidence of investors, regulators, employees and customers. I would like to see a better picture of the benefits from taking a proactive approach to health and safety, and it not just being seen as a ‘must do’.


Q5 52


WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO COMBAT NEGATIVE


ATTITUDES TO HEALTH AND SAFETY? Changing the negative perception is likely to need a combined approach of showing real examples of the benefit of being proactive about managing risk and adopting effective common sense approaches.


Q6


and technological developments will present us with new risks that will have uncertainties; it’s how we address the uncertainties without stifling the development of an increasing technological society that is key.


Q8


IF YOU COULD HAVE A DINNER PARTY WITH ANY


THREE PEOPLE, DEAD OR ALIVE, WHO WOULD THEY BE AND WHY? Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Edison and James Dyson. Three scientists/ inventors from across the ages who I’d love to talk with about how the world has made use of their discoveries and inventions, and what future generations might achieve.


Q9


WHAT IS THE BEST ADVICE YOU COULD GIVE TO


SOMEONE COMING INTO THE PROFESSION? Being a health and safety professional requires sound technical knowledge in a variety of areas concerned with practice and legislation, and you need to develop good investigative and reasoning skills, but you’ll be lost if you can’t communicate your findings.


Q7


WHAT DO YOU THINK THE FUTURE HOLDS FOR THE


HEALTH AND SAFETY INDUSTRY? Society is developing in so many ways that needs the health and safety profession to keep pace with, but equally requires us not to forget the lessons of the past or give up on challenges that are difficult. Health and safety affects everyone to differing degrees, whether it is uncertainties about nanotechnology, reducing workplace accidents, or eradicating inadvertent exposure to harmful chemicals. Scientific


Q1


WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE IN A FUTURE ISSUE OF


TOMORROW’S HEALTH & SAFETY? There’s a loss of experienced-based practice that isn’t easy to find in a textbook or manual, so a series of “Top 10 Tips for Dealing With…” would be an interesting read.


0 WHAT IS NANOTECHNOLOGY AND


WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES OF DETECTING AND ASSESSING NANOMATERIALS IN THE WORKPLACE? Nanotechnology is often defined as the application of scientific knowledge to manipulate and control matter in the nanoscale. Nanotechnology is being used in a wide-range of applications including coatings, energy storage, composites and medicines, amongst many others. There are several challenges faced when assessing nanomaterials in the workplace including the discrimination from ‘background’ particles and the ‘persistence’ of respirable particles when identifying releases from a process.


www.iom-world.org www.tomorrowshs.com


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