Engineering X selects first Champions to promote and improve safety at the end of engineered life

The Engineering X Safer End of Engineered Life (SEEL) mission has appointed its first cohort of SEEL Champions, individuals in 11 different countries working in a range of industries, sectors and disciplines who are leading projects to improve the way we dismantle and dispose of engineered products and structures.

The Champions are all determined to effect change and help raise awareness of the need to plan for end of engineered life and prevent harm to human health and the environment by finding better ways to decommission and dispose of the world’s vast diversity of human-made artefacts, which now exceeds our planet’s living biomass.

From assessing the environmental impact of the disposal of medical devices in a UK hospital to the problems of decommissioning coal-fired power stations in South Africa, and the global legal, environmental, security, and safety implications of digital data ‘eternity’, the Champions are tackling a wide range of urgent challenges.

Also addressed by some champions is the open burning of solid waste, identified by the SEEL mission in its 2021 Global Review on Safer End of Engineered Life as requiring urgent global action, which was discussed for the first time at COP26 and is now a topic on the agenda of the UN High Level Climate Champions.

The full list of SEEL Champions and the challenges they are addressing are:

• Osazoduwa Agboneni, Nenis Engineering Limited, Nigeria

Safety and sustainability in the management of automotive waste.

• Shafiul Azam Ahmed, Commitment Consultants, Bangladesh

Environmental, health, and social protection in the small-scale plastic recycling industry in Bangladesh.

• Professor Ana Basiri, University of Glasgow, Alan Turing Institute, UK

Digital inheritance legislation and reducing the environmental impact of digital data.

• Alice Tait and Abigail Bush, Clinical Engineering Innovation, UK

Understanding the environmental impact of low-cost medical devices and masks at Cambridge University Hospital.

• Dr Amrit Chandan, Aceleron, UK, East Africa, India and Caribbean

Redesign of lithium battery production for safer end of engineered life and development of circular economies.

• Dr Alec Gunner, TWI Ltd, UK

A coordinated international approach to development of probabilistic standards for quantifying structural integrity of infrastructure at end of life.

• Joseph Hwang, PT Gikoko Kogyo, Indonesia

Scoping for a mechanical biological treatment plant to produce biogas and solid refuse-derived fuel for thermal conversion to heat and electricity.

• Mufaro Kanganga, Gwanda State University, Zimbabwe

Sustainable de-and re-manufacturing methods for handling end-of-life mining equipment.

• Amod Karmacharya, Clean up Nepal, Nepal

Interventions to reduce air pollution caused by open burning of waste, from engagement at policy level to raising public awareness.

• Delila Khaled, ImpaXus, Global

Advancing women’s leadership, equity and inclusion in the waste management and recycling sector worldwide.

• Dr Deepali Sinha Khetriwal, Mike Gasser and Dea Wehril, E[co]work, India

Inclusive solutions to improve safety for informal micro-entrepreneurs of the e-waste sector in India

• Kannika Khwamsawat, Dr Poonsak Chanchampee and Dr Siriporn Borrirukwisitsak, Center of Excellence on Hazardous Substance Management, Thailand

Extended Producer Responsibility for safer management of waste electrical and electronic equipment.

• Dr Opeyeolu Timothy Laseinde, University of Johannesburg/McTodd Pty, South Africa

Safer decommissioning of coal power stations, including improved ash disposal facilities and ash reuse.

• Dr Letícia Sarmento dos Muchangos, Osaka University, Japan

Risk assessment of landfill gas from open dumping and burning of municipal solid waste in low-income contexts

• Dr Dilipkumar A. Patel, Sardar Vallabhbhai National Institute of Technology, Surat, Gujarat, India

Safety and sustainability in construction demolition waste management.

Safer End of Engineered Life (SEEL) Champions will be part of a global network of experts, learning from each other, the wider SEEL programme and beyond. Through the programme, they will receive a tailored package of support including networking opportunities, communication and other resources.

Professor William Powrie FREng, Professor of Geotechnical Engineering at the University of Southampton and Chair of the Engineering X Safer End of Engineered Life programme, said: “Whenever anything is built, we need to think about how it will eventually be ‘unbuilt’ and disposed of, so that at the end of its engineered life it does not cause harm to human health or to the environment. We are identifying and connecting individuals and organisations who are already championing safety at the end of engineered life, bringing them together and providing the support they need to achieve a greater impact. The support needed will vary between individuals, topics and regions; hence we are adopting a flexible and adaptive approach.”

Dr Ruth Boumphrey, Director of Research at Lloyd’s Register Foundation and member of the SEEL programme board, said: “Often new products and structures are designed and manufactured with very little thought about what happens when these things are no longer useful—the ‘end of engineered life’. This is unsafe and unsustainable. The people who work at the end of engineered life are often overlooked and undervalued, and many work in unsafe conditions. Lloyd’s Register Foundation are proud to be supporting a diverse group of inspiring champions from around the world who are committed to shining a spotlight on these issues and improving safety across a wide range of sectors and geographies. It’s our privilege to support their work.”

More information about the champions and their projects can be found here.