Robert P. Gleason Sr.

Robert P. Gleason Sr., 92, an industrial hygienist and safety engineer who lived in Hadley, Mass., died on Feb. 8.

Gleason received a B.S. in 1938 and an M.S. in chemistry in 1942, both from Massachusetts State College (now the University of Massachusetts, Amherst).

Gleason began his career as a chemist with the Massachusetts Division of Occupational Hygiene, in Boston, where he focused on lead and mercury hazards. After a brief tenure with General Electric Plastics in Pittsfield, Mass., he joined Fidelity & Casualty of New York, where he was involved in national studies of product safety.

In 1947, he went to work for Sylvania Electric, where he set up an industrial hygiene program, studied health problems related to beryllium and metal powders, and later became the company’s chief safety engineer.

Gleason also worked for General Electric’s Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory in Schenectady, N.Y., and for IBM’s Essex Junction, Vt., plant. In 1970, he joined Amherst as an environmental health specialist, before accepting the same position at Smith College, from which he retired in 1986.

He was an emeritus member of ACS, joining in 1941. He was also a member of other professional organizations, including the American Industrial Hygiene Association and the American Society of Safety Engineers.

Gleason taught himself to play the piano and for several years played tenor banjo with the Valley Strummers of Holyoke.

He is survived by three sons, Robert P. Jr., David, and James; two daughters, Joanne Borkowski and Mary Beth; and six grandchildren. His wife, Dorothy, predeceased him.