Mike works as a Principal Consultant for RSK, on projects concerning contaminated land and geosciences. His role includes initial site investigation, designing remediation, the organisation of drilling, and liason with clients to help develop remedial solutions.
His career began in a small Wales consultancy beforing moving to Environ in London. He started out assisting on Phase 1 contaminated land studies prior to the wide availability of online packages,so remembers looking up site characteristics in large tomes within the British Library. Whilst working for Environ, he undertook a 9 month secondment for Bovis Lend Lease as site environmental supervisor on the New Romford Hospital.
He moved back to North Wales for a job with RSK and to raise a family away from London. There, he has worked on many detailed and complicated sites with energy companies, the national grid and old gas works. One project that particularly stands out is a reclaimed site in Hapton, where a former chemical works has since been reclaimed as a country park. Mike finds this part of his job, where a project results in a tangible improvement, to be the most satisfying aspect. He enjoys working on projects which utlise new ways of dealing with contamination, such as those using the Environment Agency's code of practices and bio-remediation.
Working overseas in Portugal presented Mike with challenging project due to differences in cultural approaches to remediation. The project concerned a vapour problem in a building, where the difference in attitudes to environment, health and safety and environmental liability required careful negotiation and cultural awareness.
Mike joined the IES in order to become a Chartered Environmentalist via the popular 'CEnv in a day' route. His status as a Chartered individual will allow his to progress wihtin his career as he is now a "qualified person" and able to sign of on management plans. He hopes to become more involved with new sustainable and environmental innovations in remediaiton.
