This presentation will provide detailed information about the end-of-life destination for packages that previously held Dangerous Goods, the reconditioning process for IBCs and drums, and provide advice about suitable selection for transporting liquid hazardous waste to appropriate facilities.

As a passionate and practical HSEQ management professional, with over two decades of experience in chemical manufacturing, Leanne’s expertise spans all facets of health, safety, quality and environmental management – from system development to implementation, auditing and cultural change.

Valued by clients and colleagues, her calm, consultative and constructive approach allows her to quickly establish productive relationships, founded on trust and outcomes.

In 2018, a warehouse containing dangerous goods in West Footscray, Victoria, ignited; leading to a significant fire event that lasted nearly two weeks. The “West Footscray Fire” is considered to be the worst industrial fire since Coode Island. The aftermath of the fire revealed 14 dangerous goods stockpiles across Melbourne’s suburbs, posing a significant community safety risk as well as a complex regulatory and remediation challenge. Michael Eather, formerly Director of WorkSafe Victoria’s High Risk Dangerous Goods Taskforce will share his insights on overcoming these challenges and successfully delivering the complex clean-up of tens of millions of litres of dangerous goods.

Michael is a Director of MicroRisk Group who specialise in major hazards and dangerous goods; as a Chartered OHS Professional (ChOHSP) Michael has extensive experience in high-hazard industries.

Prior to co-founding MicroRisk Group in 2022, Michael held a number of technical and senior leadership roles within WorkSafe Victoria. Michael was the Director of WorkSafe’s inter-agency High Risk Dangerous Goods Taskforce; strategically responding to the varying challenges presented by such complex and high-profile events such as the aftermath of the 2018 West Footscray fire. Prior to joining WorkSafe, Michael spent ten years working in the petrochemical sector in maintenance, operational and safety roles.

This presentation will be primarily based around class 3 hydrocarbons and will explore several case studies that involve catastrophic tank failures and over fills resulting is significant cost and cleanup. Gary will also talk about the importance of having an emergency response plan from initial site response, resourcing contractors, compliance, and waste disposal.

Gary Davoren is a Senior Project Manager at InSite Remediation Services with 30 years' experience in environmental remediation and emergency spill response across Australia, New Zealand and internationally. Over his career Gary has been involved major hydrocarbon and hazardous materials response operations, including tanker rollovers, the Rena container ship grounding in New Zealand's Bay of Plenty and the West Atlas oil rig incident off Western Australia, Gary has previously had emergency management and remediation roles with BP, Caltex and Transpacific (now Cleanaway). He currently manages Emergency Response and remediation including PFAS treatment programs for clients including BP, Exxon Mobil, Ampol and many consulting, industrial and government clients, bringing deep technical knowledge of remedial technologies, waste management strategies and on-site emergency response operations.

In this session Gary draws on his hands-on experience with Class 3 hydrocarbons to examine some recent real-world case studies of catastrophic tank failures and overfills, and the significant cost and cleanup burden these incidents create. He will discuss the critical role of a well-prepared emergency response plan, from initial site response and resourcing of contractors through to compliance obligations and waste disposal, offering practical insights for consultants and practitioners managing dangerous goods risk.

Hazardous liquid waste is often underestimated despite presenting significant fire, explosion, health, and environmental risks during everyday handling and temporary storage. While much attention is given to the storage of hazardous chemicals, waste collection processes frequently remain overlooked and improvised.

This presentation explores practical challenges associated with hazardous liquid waste handling, including vapor exposure, electrostatic discharge, ignition prevention, ventilation concepts, and fire protection requirements. Drawing on real-world industry examples and lessons learned from hazardous materials incidents in Australia, the session highlights how engineering controls, risk assessment, and integrated safety approaches can significantly improve workplace safety while supporting compliant and efficient operations.

Sven Kretschmer is the Regional Sales Manager for Asia-Pacific at Asecos, with extensive experience in sales, marketing, and product management. He leads business development across the region, with a strong focus on hazardous materials safety.

Sven is dedicated to advancing safety standards and regulatory awareness in Asia-Pacific, helping organizations better understand and manage the risks associated with hazardous substances. His work emphasizes aligning international best practices with evolving regional regulations to create safer, compliant working environments.

At AIDGC Sydney, Sven will share insights on the development of safety standards across Asia-Pacific and the importance of raising awareness to support safer industrial and laboratory practices.