Engineer and scientist, Pete Hansen, 85, has been given an award by a Stroud-based podcast team, The Dull Man’s Podcast, which features Faye Hatcher, in recognition of his incredible life-saving invention of a smell.
Pete, who lives near Cirencester, used to work in the oil and gas industry running an engineering company in South Wales in the 1970s, at the time of the switchover from town-gas to natural gas was being implemented by the UK Government.
Natural gas, which was a plentiful by-product of the UK’s North Sea Oilfields came into Britain via oil terminals at Milford Haven.
It was much safer than traditional Town or Coal Gas as it was non-toxic and much less harmful if accidentally breathed in following a gas-leak. However, it did have one drawback – it had no natural odour, so was undetectable by the human nose following any accidental escape.
Although non-poisonous, it was still highly flammable and could cause a serious explosion if a large quantity came in to contact with a naked flame or an electric spark. The solution was to add a smell to the natural gas so that it could be immediately detected and authorities alerted if a leak occurred.
This is where Pete Hansen and his team came in, as they invented the ‘smell’ – a chemical formula that was added to natural gas, as it came through the refineries at Milford Haven, making us all very much safer in our homes, as any leak was now immediately obvious to the human nose.
These vital additives are used to this day to protect us from leaking gas, though Pete says his original formula has been modified and amended over the years as more efficient production methods have come on-line. But there is little doubt that his invention of this vital smell has saved thousands of lives throughout the UK, as we can now all smell a leak as soon as it occurs.
The Dull Man’s Podcast presenter Demitris Deech who is also a stand-up comedian, met Pete at a comedy gig and found out about this remarkable and largely untold story. He immediately invited Pete on to the podcast and an interview with Pete featured in Episode 16 – Can You Smell Gas.
The item was so popular with listeners, and Pete so obviously a great public servant, the producers of the podcast decided to give him a special award. The inaugural Dull Man’s Podcast Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Pete at a special ceremony in Cirencester last month.
Pete commented: “I was absolutely delighted to receive the first Dull Man’s Podcast Lifetime Achievement Award for my invention, and I couldn’t be more proud.”
Podcast producer Dave Harries said: “We were just blown away, not just by Pete’s life-saving invention but by his modesty and diffidence too. We just had to recognise him and try and introduce this brilliant man and his vital invention to a wider audience”.
To listen to the original podcast click here
