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Florida - Tampa
- Phone: (727) 290-3776
Dr. Michael Hanks has a Ph.D. in chemical engineering and investigates industrial and residential fires and explosions, chemical process incidents, manufacturing process incidents, and hazardous materials release and exposure incidents.
Dr. Hanks is a NAFI-certified fire and explosion investigator. He investigates failures caused by unexpected or uncontrolled chemical reactions and issues due to incompatible materials. He analyzes chemicals to identify unknown materials or contaminants, and evaluates compliance with OSHA regulations for chemical hazard communication and general industry safety practices.
In the past, Dr. Hanks managed a corporate laboratory that performed chemical analysis and product-performance testing, and led the materials development function that was responsible for developing and evaluating coatings and adhesives, thermoplastic compounds, and thermoplastic elastomers. He has failure-analysis experience with polyurethanes, polyolefins, PVC, EDPM rubber compounds and other polymers.
A plant that produced iron powder for use in manufacturing metal parts had a series of three flash fires and deflagrations within a 6-month period, resulting in a total of five fatalities.
Petroleum refineries frequently need to clean storage tanks to check for corrosion, or to allow the tank to be used for a different purpose.
The company was contracted to produce a chemical, and developed a procedure for the reaction that included treating the waste water from the reaction. The waste water contained a reactive chemical that was a hazardous material.
A homeowner was treating her swimming pool with a chlorinated chemical oxidizer used to control bacteria and algae (analogous to chlorine bleach.)
The plant decided to inject these chemicals into the water system rather than dispose of them as hazardous waste.
ESi analyzed the release of natural gas from a transmission pipeline that ruptured
ESi's expertise spans dozens of industries and specializations organized across several practice groups, each staffed by dozens of in-house experts with the technical knowledge, hands-on expertise, and courtroom experience required to execute projects for and with our clients from start to finish.
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