Tuesday, November 1, 2005


Colleagues and friends of Dr. Peter Leonard Pelmear are invited to his
Memorial Service on Tuesday, November 8, 2005, at 5:30 p.m. in the
Metropolitan United Church, 56 Queen Street East, Toronto
(2 blocks east of Yonge Street in downtown Toronto)

Following the service, a Reception will be held at the Dr. Peter Pelmear
Laboratory, Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, St.
Michael’s Hospital, 4th Floor, Shuter Wing, 30 Bond Street, Toronto,
Ontario, Canada.

Sincerely,

D. Linn Holness, MD, FRCPC
Director, Gage Occupational & Environmental Health Unit
University of Toronto & St. Michael's Hospital
Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Email: holnessl@...


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Peter Leonard Pelmear
February 05, 1928 - July 15, 2005

Peter was born in southern India where his father worked as a mining
engineer. He went to Truro School in Cornwall and then completed his
medical training at Guy’s Hospital in London. Following a period in the
Royal Air Force, and practice in West Africa, he joined GKN as an
Occupational Physician. During this period he undertook further training
and obtained his DRCOG, DPH and DIH. He held University appointments at
Birmingham, England, and the Welsh National School of Medicine, Cardiff,
Wales. In 1974 he obtained his MFCM, MFOM and MD and in 1982 he was elected
as a FFOM.

In 1979 Peter was appointed Chief Physician, at the Ontario Ministry of
Labour and the following year he assumed the duties of Director of the
Occupational Health Branch. He was an Associate Professor in the Faculty of
Medicine, University of Toronto. He left the Ministry of Labour in 1991 to
practice full-time as a Consultant with the Department of Occupational and
Environmental Health, St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, Canada.

Among his many professional activities and honours were Editor of the
Society of Occupational Medicine Journal and Occupational Health in Ontario
and President of the Ontario Society of Occupational and Environmental
Medicine. He was elected an Honorary Member of the Society of Occupational
Medicine in 2001 and received a Special Recognition Award from the
Occupational and Environmental Medical Association of Canada

Peter was a world expert in Hand-Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS). The first
classification was name after Peter and his colleague Bill Taylor. Peter
continued his work in this area after he came to Canada, where he set up the
first Canadian clinical facility dedicated to the investigation of workers
with HAVS. He developed a comprehensive assessment method and championed
the recognition of HAVS by compensation boards in Canada. In his work on
HAVS and other areas of Occupational Medicine, he emphasized the importance
of understanding the clinical dimensions of a problem when interpreting
research information and its application. Peter published over 75 articles
on HAVS. This work was synthesized in his first book, co-edited with Bill
Taylor in 1975, and then updated in a second book, Hand-Arm Vibration
Syndrome: a comprehensive guide for occupational health professionals first
published in 1992 with a second edition in 1998. He was the Distinguished
Visiting Scientist at NIOSH and later took part in the development of the
first HAVS standard for the ACGIH. The clinical vibration laboratory at St
Michael’s Hospital, which he established, was named in his honour in 2003.

Those of us who had the opportunity to work with Peter were struck by his
energy, eternal optimism and willingness to wade into any problem to find a
solution. He was a wonderful mentor and source of support for his
colleagues and a champion for the development of Occupational Medicine in
Canada. Those of us who knew Peter as a mentor, colleague and friend will
miss has unwavering support and dedication to occupational medicine and the
creation of safe and healthy workplaces for all.

Ron House Linn Holness
Director, Occupational Medicine Program Chief, Department of Occupational
Health
University of Toronto St Michael’s Hospital

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END Forwarded by Andrew Cutz, CIH (Tuesday, November 1, 2005)