Tributes paid to safety pioneer Trevor Kletz

The Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE) president Judith Hackitt, has paid tribute to safety pioneer Trevor Kletz who passed away yesterday at the age of 91.

Kletz was one of industry’s most respected figures following a celebrated career as an industry safety advisor, lecturer and writer.

Hackitt, who is also Chair of the Great Britain Health and Safety Executive said: "Trevor’s impact on industry was striking. His ability to convey safety information succinctly, and effectively, was central to his success. On behalf of IChemE, I extend our sincere sympathies to his family and friends. We will ensure the memory and work of Trevor lives on within the chemical engineering community.”

IChemE chief executive David Brown says that the impact of Kletz’s work will be felt for many years: "Trevor unquestionably saved lives. There are people working in the process industries today who will go home safely to their families and loved ones, thanks to Trevor. He had a profound impact on industrial safety.”

Kletz worked for ICI from 1944 to 1982. In 1968 he was appointed as one of the process industry’s first technical safety advisors with a broad remit which included advising designers and operators about how to avoid accidents, specifically with regard to process accidents. On leaving ICI, Trevor built a second career as a process safety consultant, writer and lecturer. He was elected a Fellow of IChemE in 1978, a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering in 1984 and awarded an OBE for services to process safety in 1997. He authored fourteen books and more than one hundred peer-reviewed papers on process safety.

Kletz remained active professionally until earlier this year where a formal retirement reception was staged at IChemE’s Hazards 23 conference in Southport, UK.