Richard Thurgood

Profile and Experience-Scientific and Technical

Richard Thurgood has nearly thirty years experience associated with the chemical and pharmaceutical industries. A chemical engineer by background he spent the first fifteen years of his career in a pharmaceutical company in a variety of technical roles, including technology transfer, before becoming the HSE manager for the site. Richard then moved into consultancy, joining Cortex, later to become E&RS, and becoming the Technical Director. He joined Sirius in 2008 in the role of Director to launch Sirius Strategic Environmental Management.

For nine years at E&RS Richard was responsible for leading the contaminated land projects centred on the assessment and remediation of sites associated with manufacture of carbon disulphide and viscose rayon. These investigations and assessments, for a single client, was one of the largest projects of this type undertaken in the UK. Several of the sites had been redeveloped into residential estates, which not only required technical assessment and remediation but also the development and implementation of communication strategies.

A background in engineering and technology transfer has led to Richard being involved in the development and implementation of emergent remediation technologies including the use of zero valent iron in the treatment of carbon disulphide and solidification-stabilisation techniques. His role normally revolves around the “industrialisation” of the process and its introduction to stakeholders.

Communication to a broad range of stakeholders is key in all contaminated land projects, and particularly so in cases involving existing residential developments. Richard has a long history in the art of communicating with residents and other involved parties. This ranges from emergency communications following major emergencies to organising the relocation of a number of residents to new homes following the discovery of contaminants adjacent to their properties. He also runs communication courses and has spoken at several international courses on these topics.

Uncertainties other the actual effects of contaminants to ecosystems compared with those postulated by models often cause unnecessary conservatisms to be built into the next phases or for issues to be missed. To assist in resolving these Richard started to work with a forensic ecology consultancy to provide robust analyses of true effects. This has proved so successful that a partnership between SSEM and Physalia (the consultant ecologists) is being formed to further develop these processes.

Combining technical skills with his broad experience has meant Richard has often taken the lead, on behalf of clients, in negotiations with regulators and third parties. These have ranged from agreeing assessments and remediation strategies with the Environment Agency and Local Authorities to arranging settlements of off-site contamination issues with third parties.

It is impossible to provide either a complete oversight of all the facets of Richards experience or to consider any of them in depth. He would however be pleased to discuss any of them in person – please contact him on 07525234916 or by emailing him at richard.thurgood@thesiriusgroup.com.