Speakers, Dust and Respiratory Health Forum 2022
| Professor Rick Valenta, The University of Queensland (welcome) Professor Valenta is Acting Director of the Sustainable Minerals Institute (SMI). He was previously leader of SMI's Complex Orebodies cross-disciplinary research program, and SMI Deputy Director Production - a key operational and strategic leadership role with responsibility for the BRC, JKMRC and MISHC. Rick has extensive industry experience and is a Fellow of the AusIMM, a practising member of the Association of Professional Geologists of Ontario (APGO), a member of the Geological Society of Australia, the Society of Economic Geologists, and the Australian Institute of Company Directors. He is also the Chair of the Research Committee of the Queensland Exploration Council. |
| Dr Yingying Sun, University of New South Wales Yingying Sun is a researcher from the UNSW Water Research Centre and the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering. She is experienced in oxidative stress and inflammation related cellular dysfunction, especially the pathogenesis investigations on both pulmonary and neural dysfunction. Yingying and Andrew will present jointly on some of the early findings stemming from a new project examining the relationships between coal mine - and artificial stone dust particle geochemistry and lung disease – with a particular focus on toxicity assessment. Presentation title: Physico-chemical characteristics and toxicity of coal mine and artificial stone particulates: Identifying factors critical to the pathogenesis and severity of coal workers’ pneumoconiosis and silicosis |
| Dr Andrew Kinsela, University of New South Wales Andrew Kinsela is a researcher from the UNSW Water Research Centre and the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering. He has particular expertise in the fields of particle characterisation and contaminant transformations in both natural and engineered systems. This research typically uses fundamental scientific knowledge to solve ‘real-world’ problems, such as contaminated site remediation. Yingying and Andrew will present jointly on some of the early findings stemming from a new project examining the relationships between coal mine - and artificial stone dust particle geochemistry and lung disease – with a particular focus on particle characterisation techniques Presentation title: Physico-chemical characteristics and toxicity of coal mine and artificial stone particulates: Identifying factors critical to the pathogenesis and severity of coal workers’ pneumoconiosis and silicosis |
| Dr Rob McDonald, BHP Rob is the immediate past Vice President Health and Hygiene at BHP, a role he has held for over 11 years. In that role he had accountability for establishing a framework to manage health risks, develop health strategy, provide advice to the CEO and Board and was the Company representative on the Health and Safety Committee at the International Council on Mining and Metals. Presentation: Diesel exhaust exposure: Why going beyond regulatory compliance is needed and what can be achieved |
| Dr Dusan Ilic, University of Newcastle Dr Ilic is a fellow, chartered engineer and research academic at the University of Newcastle, located at the Newcastle Institute for Energy and Resources, with almost 20 years’ experience of consultancy and applied research. Over the last 5 years, using a foundation of bulk solids handling and particle science, Dr Ilic has established and grown multi-disciplinary research programmes involving characterising workplace exposures, integrating low cost sensors and LiDAR into dust emissions management. Presentation: Recent research in dust emissions monitoring, visualisation and characterising biological effects of particulate matter in the resources industry |
| Professor Robert Cohen, University of Illinois Robert Cohen is Clinical Professor of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences at the University Of Illinois School Of Public Health. He is also Professor of Medicine and Director of the Occupational Lung Disease Program at Northwestern University. His major research interests are occupational lung disease, particularly mineral dust exposed workers. Robert is the Principal Investigator on the Black Lung Center of Excellence as well as the Black Lung Clinics Program, he also serves as the medical director for the National Coalition of Black Lung and Respiratory Disease, the organisation of federally funded black lung clinics. Presentation title: Coal mine dust lung disease in the US latest data and current research |
| Associate Professor Emily Sarver, Virginia Tech Emily Sarver is an associate professor in the Department of Mining and Minerals Engineering, and adjunct faculty in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Virginia Tech. Her primary research interests include monitoring, characterization and abatement of respirable dust and diesel particulates. Over the past decade, she has led or contributed to numerous projects in this area, collaborating with industry partners, government, and researchers in occupational medicine and health sciences. Dr. Sarver is currently investigating temporal trends in respirable dust characteristics in US coal mines, the range of respirable silica particle types in mines, and the effects of various dust controls on dust particle size and constituents. Presentation: Respirable dust research highlights: characterization and monitoring |
| Lucas Boyne, NSW Coal Services Lucas Boyne is the manager of the NSW Coal Services Occupational Hygiene team. He has been involved in the assessment and control of airborne dust exposure in the mining industry for more than 15 years. Lucas completed his Health, Safety and Occupational Hygiene studies through the University of Wollongong. He is a member of the Australian Institute of Occupational Hygienists (AIOH) and is the Deputy Chair of the NSW Standing Dust Committee. |
| Basil Beamish, B3 Mining Services Basil Beamish is the Managing Director of B3 Mining Services Pty Ltd, an international consulting service company for spontaneous combustion testing and hazard assessment. Basil has over 40 years of experience in coal mine related hazards and is one of the world’s leading experts in spontaneous combustion management planning, including being a member of several incident management teams. Since 2018 Basil has been part of a collaborative research team at the Menzies Institute for Medical Research, University of Tasmania that has been investigating coal composition effects on lung cell response to determine possible pathogenesis relationships for the development of coal workers’ pneumoconiosis. Presentation title: Particle Chemistry and the Lung Response to Coal Dust |
| Evan Pengelly, Health Surveillance Unit Since 2016, Evan has developed and implemented reforms to the regulated health scheme for Queensland coal mine workers in response to coal workers’ pneumoconiosis. In his current role as Director of the Health Surveillance Unit, Evan oversees the health assessment process for workers under the Scheme. Joining the Queensland Government in 2004, Evan has diverse experience in policy and operational areas, including responding to resources policy challenges such as balancing land access for resource development. Presentation title: Update from Resources Safety and Health Queensland |
| Nikky LaBranche, The University of Queensland Nikky LaBranche is a Research Fellow in the Minerals Industry Safety and Health Centre (MISHC) within the Sustainable Minerals Institute (SMI) at The University of Queensland. She is also pursuing her PhD characterising the impact of dust on the respiratory health of coal mine workers, for which she has been awarded the AusIMM Education Endowment Fund Postgraduate Scholarship. Nikky is a mining engineer with 15 years’ experience in surface and underground coal through her work in the US, Colombia and Australia. She is currently serving on the Board of Directors of the AusIMM Health & Safety Society and has received the John T. Boyd Young Engineers Award. Presentation title: Characterisation of Airborne Particulates in Australian Mines |
