Bush to name Bresland to head chem safety panel

12 July 2007 20:16  [Source: ICIS news]

WASHINGTON (ICIS news)--President George Bush soon will nominate senior board member John Bresland as chairman of the US Chemical Safety Board (CSB), the panel said on Thursday, but the nomination awaits approval by the US Senate.

 

Bresland, who has served on the board for five years, formerly worked for Honeywell and is an authority on dust explosions and reactive chemical hazards - two areas where the board has been particularly active in recent years.

 

If approved by the Senate, Bresland would succeed Carolyn Merritt as chairperson of the nine-year-old chemical safety agency.

 

The board also said that the White House is expected to name Russell Shearer to the CSB to fill the vacancy created by Merritt’s departure on 2 August.  Shearer now serves as the deputy chief for enforcement and technical matters in the office of health, safety and security at the Department of Energy.

 

Merritt will complete her five-year appointment on 2 August and plans to return to private life.

 

In his role as a board member, Bresland has been active in ten CSB investigations over the last five years, according to board spokesman Dan Horowitz. Most recently, Bresland had oversight responsibility for the board’s investigation of the March 2005 explosion and fire that killed 15 workers and injured nearly 200 others at the BP refinery in Texas City, Texas.

 

If confirmed as the new chairman, Bresland would serve a five-year term.

 

Bresland holds chemistry degrees from Londonderry Technical College in Northern Ireland and Salford University in England.  In addition to his work in various roles at Honeywell, including that of plant manager, he was president of a chemical process safety consulting firm before being named to the board in August 2002.

 

He also has served as a staff consultant at the Center for Chemical Process Safety for the American Institute of Chemical Engineers where he oversaw committee creation of books on explosive dust and reactive chemical hazards.

 

Bresland also is a nationally registered emergency medical technician.

By: Joe Kamalick
+1 713 525 2653

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