David Lyall, recently retired Director General of Eurobitume, the European Bitumen Association, was named to the Roll of Honor by the Asphalt Institute at the 2004 Euroasphalt & Eurobitume Congress in Vienna, Austria. This award recognizes individuals who members of the Asphalt Institute feel have made substantial, time-proven contributions to the asphalt industry. Lyall served as Eurobitume’s Director General for 11 years from 1993 through 2003.
“David’s efforts have transformed Eurobitume into a global leader principally in the Health, Safety and Environment field,” said Pete Grass, president of Asphalt Institute. “This focus, part of which is the larger parameter of “a license to operate” for Eurobitume, is predicated on the demand by society that products and the way in which they are utilized are safe both to the worker and to the environment as a whole. David’s focus on HS&E has been the catalyst that has galvanized the European manufacturers on achieving the success under their “license to operate” umbrella.”
With Lyall’s leadership, Eurobitume established a group of HS&E experts to evaluate the constant stream of environmental and regulatory issues and make recommendations for action. He established a network for all bitumen associations to facilitate the exchange of information and best practices across a diverse industry. Examples include the Refined Bitumen Association guidelines on the Safe Delivery of Bitumen, MSDS recommendations and the Safe Handling of Bitumen and Bitumen Burns leaflets. Lastly, an eco-profile of bitumen was written to permit greater understanding of the environmental impact of the material.
In addition to these achievements, Lyall accomplished a number of significant milestones in his career:
- Producing the Eurobitume Congresses every 4th year: Eurobitume Congress in 1993 (Stockholm), the joint Eurasphalt & Eurobitume Congresses in 1996 (Strasbourg), 2000 (Barcelona) and 2004 (Vienna).
- Producing technical seminars and events: the Rheology WS in 1995 (Brussels), the WS99 on performance-related specifications in 1999 (Luxembourg), and the BiTSpec Seminars series in 2002 and 2003 on 2nd generation binder specifications in Europe.
- Developing Eurobitume recommendations and guidelines for the bitumen industry on classification/labeling/warning for bitumen for MSDS, Bitumen Safe Handling, and the “Bitumen Burns Cards.”
- Development of a clear HS&E strategy and leadership of the European HS&E projects.
Lyall continues to work within the asphalt industry as a consultant and is based in London.
The Asphalt Institute is a U.S.-based association of international petroleum asphalt/bitumen producers, manufacturers and affiliated business. Its mission is to promote the use, benefits, and quality performance of petroleum asphalt, through environmental, marketing, research, engineering and technical development, and through the resolution of issues affecting the industry. For more information, visit www.asphaltinstitute.org.