Whether we realise it or not, chemicals are a vital part of our everyday lives. From the weed killer in your shed to the bleach under your sink, even the flavouring in your squash, chemicals are everywhere. With such a large industry it is inevitable that something will go wrong, and when it does it can go very wrong indeed. Join us as we take a look at examples of both historic industrial incidents and everyday occurrences as explained by an emergency responder from the UK’s National Chemical Emergency Centre.
Tom Johnson graduated with a master’s degree in chemistry from Newcastle University in 2016, soon after he joined the NCEC as an emergency responder. Over the past two and a half years Tom has handled calls on behalf of numerous chemical companies and has assisted the UK emergency services through our dedicated line. As well as handling emergency calls Tom also provides case studies of the calls handled by the emergency responders, these are used to inform training standards and in our company newsletters. He also authors articles disseminated to the emergency services on various emerging challenges. He is keen to engage more people in STEM and also presented to the Royal Society of Chemistry in November 2018. When not handling the emergency lines Tom often writes, practices Jiu Jitsu and enjoys cooking.