ISRP European Conference - October 1st and 2nd, Lincoln

Last weeks meeting of the European ISRP was attended by over 35 delegates who were entertained right royally by Chief Fire Officer Mike Thomas and his crew at Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue Services Training Centre. I was really surprised by how many delegates wanted to try Breathing apparatus on - for the first time! Maybe we should make it compulsory fort RPE researchers to wear the various type of RPE for a while.

The lectures were all well received and prompted lively debate. Special thanks to Mike Clayton (HSL) and David Lummis (BSIF) for their contributions to the FIT2FIT workshops that were also very lively with lots of debate and input. It was particularly gratifying to witness the efforts of ISRP members over the years being turned into real advances in the development of effective respiratory protection in the workplace. As well as representing real reductions in occupational illness, this will also deliver great savings for UK plc. The annual UK spend on RPE is over £500,000,000 (about £100 per wearer) and current estimates suggest that half of that could be wasted in ineffective  protection - what a waste.

At the end of our conference Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue took us up to their practice grounds near RAF Waddington. There they demonstrated the potential dangers of flash over and back draft. We will try and get a video up on the ISRP European website later this week - go to http://www.isrp.org.uk/