Chemist whose father survived oil rig disaster inspired to swap slides for VR safety training

Virtual reality could convert safety training from what can sometimes be a box-ticking exercise into something people are invested in, which ultimately might make working in chemical plants safer.

Accidents both in research labs and in chemical manufacturing plants can have drastic – and often deadly – consequences. Only two months ago, one person died and three were injured in an explosion at US chemicals maker Optima. The Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters lists 165 chemical spills and gas leaks since 1940, killing 4000 people – 2000 alone in the largest chemical disaster ever recorded in Bhopal, India, in 1984. Often, accidents are a result of poor site maintenance and substandard safety culture.