BOHS announces the winners of its prestigious awards for 2021
The British Occupational Hygiene Society, a scientific charity and the Chartered Society for Worker Health Protection has once again recognised the outstanding contribution of the Health and Safety Executive by conferring on them the coveted Peter Isaac Award. The HSE’s PPE Task Force has been working tirelessly across the range of workplace health protection, including ensuring the quality of protective equipment for healthcare workers, through to practical guidance for a whole variety of workplaces.
The Society has also recognised a range of other health protection experts for their contributions during 2020. Professor Noah Seixas, the Chief Editor of the Society’s world-renowned scientific and research journal Annals of Work Exposures and Health was given lifetime membership. The journal, which has been downloaded over a million times, became an invaluable reference point for researchers trying to understand what might effectively control the COVID virus.
Neil Pickering, a Chartered Occupational Hygienist and HS&E Director, now a consultant, who this year was heavily involved in the authoring of a revised Construction Health Risks Course and leads the Society’s Breathe Freely manufacturing campaign, has won the Trevor Ogden Award for his dedication and voluntary contribution to the Society. It recognises decades of volunteering in the furtherance of the science of preventing workplace health exposures.
New professionals are also being celebrated by the Society, with Jessica Pearson of Armstrong Environmental Ltd winning the Early Career Occupational Hygiene (ECOH) Award for her essay on “The future of Occupational Hygiene”. In addition, the Ted King Award is to be presented to Jans Babkevičs of Syngenta and Tomas Gabor of Sysco Environmental, as the highest achievers of the BOHS Certificate of Operational Competence in Occupational Hygiene.
HSE Specialist, David Towler scoops the David Hickish Award as the best candidate of the year in completion of the BOHS Diploma of Professional Competence in Occupational Hygiene.
Professor Kevin Bampton, the Society’s CEO, commented: “Many people still have not heard of occupational hygiene. However, the last year has demonstrated that the scientists and technical experts who practice are vital to saving lives. Many of this year’s winners are unsung heroes of the pandemic.”
Occupational hygienists have been active in supporting a variety of workplaces to protect against COVID, as well as continuing to intervene and ensure measures are in place to protect against serious workplace exposures to cancer-causing substances like silica and protect workers from a host of occupationally derived diseases.
Without the work of occupational hygienists, such as our winners, our NHS and critical industry staff, we would have had insufficient workplace protection from the virus,” said BOHS President, Alison Margary. “Still more workers owe their health and the health of their families and loved ones to the skills and expertise of these people who enabled Britain to go back to work, while still ensuring a decrease in infection rates because of effective control of workplace transmission. The winners represent the best of the profession and discipline. They serve as an inspiration to all who seek to protect us against workplace diseases.