Our People
EP Risk’s experienced scientists, engineers and project managers make up our team of highly-qualified scientists and engineers. We utilise our confident and pragmatic skills to deliver optimal solutions for the project lifecycle. We pride ourselves on underlying everything we do with a positive mindset focused on absolute delivery for our people, clients and communities.
Our team comprises various qualifications to make sure we can service all your environmental needs in-house. By doing this we save you time and resources looking for the right consultants to assist across multiple environmental needs.
MANAGEMENT TEAM
Kris Thomas
Chief Executive Officer MAICD
BSc (Hons) Environmental Risk Management
Paul Simpson
Director / Principal Environmental Engineer / Area Manager (Northern NSW / QLD / NT)
B.E. (Env), M. App Sc (Hydrogeology)
General CEnvP and Site Contamination Specialist Certification
Craig Trimbur
Area Manager (VIC, TAS, SA, WA) / Principal Environmental Scientist
Bachelor of Science (Environmental Economics)
Master of Business Administration
TECHNICAL & SUPPORT TEAM
Dr Ismail Gulec
Principal Toxicologist and Risk Assessor
PhD, ME, BE
Luke Dal Lago
Senior Associate Environmental Scientist
BSc Environmental
Terry Rodgers
Senior Associate Environmental Scientist
M. Env Sc, BSc (Geography-Geology)
SafeWork NSW Licensed Asbestos Assessor
Alex Thomson
Senior Associate Environmental Scientist
BSc (Marine and Environmental)
CEnvP (General Practice)
& SafeWork NSW Licensed Asbestos Assessor
James Young
Principal Geotechnical Scientist
BSc (Geology)
Emma Strong
Senior Environmental Scientist
Bachelor of Environmental Science (Chemistry)
James Thompson
Senior Associate Occupational Hygienist, Laboratory Manager
BSc (Biotechnology),
Post Grad Dip (Env Studies)
SafeWork NSW Licensed Asbestos Assessor
Oscar Godfrey
Senior Environmental Engineer
B.Eng (Hons) Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Loek Munnichs
Principal Environmental Scientist / NSW EPA Accredited Site Auditor
CEnvP-SC
Sean Kelly
Senior Occupational Hygienist
B.Planning (Sustainable Studies)
Kellie Guenther
Principal Environmental Scientist
BSc, Environmental Biology
Masters Environmental Engineering Management
CEnvP-SC
Kris Thomas
Chief Executive Officer MAICD
Bachelor of Science (Hons) (Environmental Risk Management)
Kris Thomas is the Chief Executive Officer MAICD of EP Risk and a Principal Environmental Scientist with over 19 years of consulting experience in the areas of contaminated land management (CLM), asbestos in soil (ASBINS), assessment and site remediation. Kris has a proven track record of successful team leadership, business development, effective client relationship management and winning major tenders with large contract values. He has extensive project management skills with a solid reputation of successful project delivery with large scale budgets and multi-disciplinary teams.
Kris specialises in the following disciplines:
- Contaminated land site investigation and remediation
- ASBINS assessments
- NSW waste framework
Paul Simpson
Director / Principal Environmental Engineer / Area Manager (Northern NSW / QLD / NT)
B.E. (Env), M. App Sc (Hydrogeology)General CEnvP and Site Contamination Specialist Certification
Paul Simpson is Director of EP Risk Management and is based in the Hunter Office. He is an Environmental Engineer with a Masters in Hydrogeology, and over 22 years’ experience in contaminated land assessment and remediation, hydrogeology and hazardous materials assessment. He has managed remediation works on portfolios of sites with yearly budgets of $30M working for both industrial and consulting companies. Paul has extensive experience in the assessment and remediation of industrial facilities, stakeholder and community consultation and hazardous materials assessment. His key strengths lie in his understanding of the needs of industrial clients and property owners and a track record of negotiations with regulators and other stakeholders. Paul has worked with private developers, utility service providers, industrial companies, landfill operators, Local and State Government.
Paul specialises in the following disciplines:
- Contaminated land assessment and remediation
- Hydrogeology
- PFAS
Dr Ismail Gulec
Principal Toxicologist and Risk Assessor
PhD, ME, BE
Dr Ismail Gulec is a Principal Toxicologist and Risk Assessor at EP Risk Management conducting Human Health Risk Assessment (HHRAs), environmental site assessment and remediation works for developers, environmental auditors and consulting companies. He has worked with a number of well-known environmental consulting firms specialising in the area of HHRAs.
Ismail has completed numerous HHRAs on sites contaminated with petroleum hydrocarbons, chlorinated hydrocarbons, metals, PAHs, pesticides and dioxins presenting risks through vapour exposure, groundwater migration and soil exposure. He also conducted HHRAs for remediation activities such as direct thermal desorption plant activity, land and bay excavations, contaminated stockpiles at the site and undisturbed contaminated fill. Ismail has made contributions pertaining to risk assessment to sites subject to audit in Victoria, NSW, Queensland, SA and WA under their respective accredited auditor schemes.
Ismail has several publications and extensive experience in environmental toxicology. He worked six years as a scientist for Chemwatch International Pty Ltd and collected and updated toxicological, hygienic and legislative information on chemicals for the company’s databases.
Ismail specialises in the following disciplines:
- Human Toxicology (HT)
- Environmental Toxicology (ET)
- Contaminant Transport and Assessment of Exposure Pathways and Risk (CT AEPR)
- Human Health Risk Assessment (HHRA)
- Environmental Risk Assessment and Management (ERAM)
Terry Rodgers
Senior Associate Environmental Scientist
M. Env Sc, BSc (Geography-Geology)
SafeWork NSW Licensed Asbestos Assessor
Terry is a Senior Associate Environmental Scientist with over 20 years’ project management and project delivery experience in contaminated land environmental site investigation, environmental management, asbestos, demolition, remediation, landfill monitoring and acid sulfate soil management.
Terry has worked with a range of government and private sector clients including petrochemical, power and water utilities, pharmaceutical industries, civil contractors, developers, project management and engineering consultants and councils, in New South Wales, across Australia and in the United Kingdom.
Terry’s strengths are in site investigation, site remediation, site validation and project advisor experience. During five years as a remediation contractor, Terry also gained additional construction project management and delivery skills including tendering, procurement, resourcing and scheduling, risk assessment, hold point management and stakeholder communication.
Terry specialises in the following disciplines:
- Contaminated Land Assessment and Management.
- Contaminated Land Remediation and Validation.
- Environmental Management and Project Delivery Advisory Services.
- Asbestos Assessment, Management, Monitoring and Clearance.
Alex Thomson
Senior Associate Environmental Scientist
BSc (Marine and Environmental)
CEnvP (General Practice)
& SafeWork NSW Licensed Asbestos Assessor
Alex Thomson is a Senior Associate Environmental Scientist based in the Sydney office. He has over seven years’ experience in contaminated land, occupational hygiene and hazardous materials. Client sectors include Government and private, where Alex has continued to deliver professional technical solutions and advise on key Health, Safety and Environmental issues. Alex started his career as a hazardous materials consultant and occupational hygienist, working on a number of state significant state developments. He then transitioned into a multidisciplinary role, advancing skills and knowledge in contaminated land and remediation, where he has continued to deliver complex projects. His position includes management of key clients and stakeholders, delivery of technical projects, as well as being a mentor and trainer of junior staff.
Alex specialises in the following disciplines:
- Contaminated land assessment and remediation
- Occupational Hygiene
- Asbestos in soils
- Per-and Poly-Fluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) assessment and remediation
- Environmental Due Diligence Assessments
James Young
Principal Geotechnical Scientist
Bachelor of Science (Geology)
James is a Principal Geotechnical Scientist with over 30 years of experience in geotechnical and environmental projects and has extensive experience in managing and coordinating investigation and testing required on major projects. He has experience in analysing site conditions from both a geotechnical and environmental perspective, advising clients on appropriate remediation strategies. James is the former owner of Geotech Solutions which he sold to Cardno in 2011 and continued as Business Unit Manager Newcastle until 2016. With a proven track record of successful team leadership and project delivery James has substantial experience in coordinating geotechnical and environmental investigations undertaken on projects. James has a good record of providing superior outcomes which meet or exceed client expectations.
James specialises in the following disciplines:
- Ground and Strata Risk Assessments;
- Principal Mine Hazard Management Plans
- Earthworks Management Advice;
- Pavement Design;
- Construction Material Evaluation;
- Quarry Development and Remediation;
- Urban Renewal and Site Remediation;
- Slope Stability
Luke Dal Lago
Senior Associate Environmental Scientist
BSc Environmental
Luke is a Senior Associate Environmental Scientist with over ten years consulting experience in the areas of contaminated land including environmental site assessments for audit and site remediation. Client sectors include both government and private sectors, where Luke has continued to deliver professional technical solutions and advice on environmental issues.
Luke specialises in the following disciplines:
- Preparation of project scopes of work, tendering and proposal submission.
- Technical report writing including completion of preliminary and detailed site assessments, sampling and analysis plans, remedial action plans and associated reporting.
- Project management, client/stakeholder and environmental auditor liaison
James Thompson
Senior Associate Occupational Hygienist, Laboratory Manager
BSc (Biotechnology), Post Grad Dip (Env Studies)
SafeWork NSW Licensed Asbestos Assessor
James is a Senior Associate Occupational Hygienist with fifteen years of experience in the environmental industry. James’ areas of expertise include hazardous materials (HAZMAT), Occupational Hygiene (OH), sampling and laboratory analysis.
James’ responsibilities include team management, laboratory management, project management, a range of occupational hygiene services, fieldwork and preparation of:
- HAZMAT Assessments and Reports
- Asbestos Clearance Certificates
- Asbestos Management Plans
- Asbestos in Soils Investigations
- Review of Asbestos Removal Control Plans
- Mould Assessments
- Site Investigations
- Validation Assessments
- Environmental Management Plans
- Remediation Actions Plans
James has held NATA accredited signatory status during both of his previous tenures.
James specialises in the following disciplines:
- Occupational Hygiene Services
- Hazardous Materials
- NATA accredited laboratory
Craig Trimbur
Area Manager (VIC, TAS, SA, WA) / Principal Environmental Scientist
Bachelor of Science (Environmental Economics), Master of Business Administration
Craig has over 18 years of experience leading environmental investigations, with significant focus in groundwater and soil remediation, regulatory audits and site rehabilitation.
This has included managing large project teams in the US and across the Asia Pacific region including numerous specialist environmental disciplines addressing a wide range of client and site-specific issues.
Craig has extensive team leadership experience and has held national leadership roles focused on strategy and growth of contaminated land and HAZMAT practices working across several client industries.
Craig specialises in the following disciplines:
- Contaminated Land and Groundwater Assessment;
- Contaminated Land Auditing;
- Contaminated Land and Groundwater Remediation;
- Project Management of Large-Scale Industrial Projects; and
- Environmental Due Diligence.
Craig is also a member of Australasian Land and Groundwater Association (ALGA)
Emma Strong
Senior Environmental Scientist
Bachelor of Environmental Science (Chemistry)
Emma Strong is an Senior Environmental Scientist with four years of experience in contaminated land assessments, environmental investigations, landfill monitoring and site remediation.
Emma’s responsibilities include fieldwork such as soil and groundwater monitoring and sampling, stockpile sampling, landfill gas monitoring, soil vapour and air monitoring and sampling, hydrogeological testing, and preparation of various contaminated land investigation reports. Emma is also is involved in conducting in-situ and ex-situ bulk soil and waste classifications, soil characterisation assessments, preliminary site investigations, detailed site investigations, due diligence environmental assessments and construction environmental management plans.
Emma specialises in the following disciplines:
- Due Diligence Assessments
- Waste Classification and Beneficial Reuse Assessments
- Contaminated Land Assessments
- Environmental Monitoring including groundwater and landfill gas
- Hydrogeological testing
Emma is a member of Australasian Land and Groundwater Association (ALGA) and
Australian Contaminated Land Consultants Association (ACLCA)
Loek Munnichs
Principal Environmental Scientist / NSW EPA Accredited Site Auditor
CEnvP-SC
Loek has 24 years of consultancy experience in contaminated land management and remediation projects both in the Netherlands and Australia. In his role as a Principal Environmental Scientist and Team leader, he has been responsible for the entire project process of resourcing, budget and scheduling as well as quality control and communication.
With a helicopter view, Loek solves contaminated land issues by optimising and combining pragmatic but justifiable solutions. Driven by an analytical background and technical skills, Loek looks for scientifically based solutions that are acceptable for all stakeholders who include clients, authorities, contractors, consultants, media and the broader public and he understands and respects each stakeholder’s viewpoints.
Loek has managed/mentored several teams with contaminated land professionals and different levels of expertise (from Graduate to Principal level). Since 2014, Loek has been working in an Auditor’s assistant role and has been involved with over more than 30 Site Audits.
Kellie Guenther
Principal Environmental Scientist
Certified Environmental Practitioner (Site Contamination)
Kellie has worked within the Australian Contaminated Land Industry since 1999. In her role as one of Newcastle’s Principal Environmental Scientists she is responsible for project direction, environmental advice, client and auditor liaison, budgeting and scheduling. Additionally, as one of EP Risk’s Certified Environmental Practitioners (Site Contamination) she is also responsible for reviewing and approving project reports for both the Newcastle and Sydney team.
Kellie specialises in the development of resource and cost-effective contaminated land assessments and preparation and refinement of complex conceptual site models. She has also provided senior technical and management support to several NSW EPA accredited site auditors across her career. She understands the planning process in NSW and has extensive experience implementing contaminated land associated environmental legislation and instruments.
Kellie loves the challenge of finding pragmatic contaminated land assessment and remediation solutions for former industrial and agricultural land and urban infill sites to enable more suitable and beneficial land uses while reducing contamination within the environment. She has wide-ranging experience on landfills, Defence estates (including PFAS), paint and pesticide manufacturing plants, former quarry sites and former asphalt and munitions manufacturing facilities.
JOIN OUR TEAM
We’re always on the lookout for passionate environmental and workplace health and safety consultants. Contact us to enquire about our current positions or send us your CV.