Chemistry Weekly Seminar - Ralph Bock

Title:

Things I Found in Garages

Abstract:

For the past 25 years Ralph Bock has served the people of Saskatchewan as a Hazardous Materials Chemist for the Ministry of Environment. He has been fortunate or misfortunate to be called upon to assist a variety of agencies with everything from hoarders, meth labs, WMD labs and counter terror operations. He has consulted with a variety of municipal, police and fire services, the RCMP, Environment Canada and various other military and intelligence services worldwide. Ralph is now retired from the ministry and is providing consulting service worldwide.

Ralph received his bachelors in Chemistry in 1985 and served in the army there after. Then a brief stint as a mine chemist. In 1995 he joined the Ministry of Environment and has not worked in a “licensed real lab for his entire career”. He has been trained and provided training nationally and internationally in HAZMAT Chemistry, managing hazardous material incidents, environmental emergencies, counter terror, and counter proliferation as there they relate to the Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and Explosive threats post 911.

Today he will present 3 discussions from his career that were chemically interesting, and presented unique challenges for responders:

• Clandestine Production of Methamphetamine in small town Saskatchewan.
• Red Phosphorous “Super Lab”
• Anhydrous Ammonia Street Lab
• Clandestine production of Explosives and other Agents
• The role of a “real” chemist in emergency Management.