PBC2007 Conference Overview |
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Click here to download the author guideilnes for paper submission (.pdf) |
Click here to download the conference brochure (241 kb .pdf) |
The Pacific Basin Consortium for Environment and Health (PBC) held its 12th International Conference in Beijing, China 26-29 October, 2007. Nearly 200 people hailing from more than 20 countries attended the conference. Please click HERE for a summary of the conference.
The primary objectives of the conference were to:
► Present research related to characterization and sources of environmental pollutants, human exposure to pollutants, and the health effects of exposure;
► Describe the latest advances in reducing the generation of hazardous chemical pollutants, methods for destroying or capturing them, and technology for the remediation of contaminated soils, hazardous wastes and contaminated groundwater.
► Promote an understanding of the role of greenhouse gas emissions in causing climate change and periodic catastrophic events, methods for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, with consideration of the health effects of global warming;
► Increase interdisciplinary and international cooperation in understanding and addressing threats to human and environmental health in the region, with a special emphasis on ensuring that lessons learned in the development process by industrialized countries are passed on to countries currently in the midst of rapid industrialization;
► Situate discussion of reducing risks to human and environmental health within a larger context which addresses issues of equity, poverty, development and sustainability ;
► Encourage student participation in interdisciplinary sciences that contribute to the protection of health and the environment; and,
► Offer training opportunities in areas related to protection of health and the environment to professionals in developing nations of the Pacific Basin.
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A major focus of this conference was to address issues related to the threats to human health from exposure to environmental pollutants in the Pacific Region, including how to reduce the production of such pollutants and remove or destroy them when they are produced. Specifically, the conference explored how to monitor levels of exposure in human populations and how to evaluate the health consequences of these exposures.The conference will disseminate scientific information and analysis supporting the management of regional environmental problems, including exposure to metals such as mercury, arsenic, fluoride and lead, organic compounds such as persistent pesticides, PCBs and dioxins, and new toxic threats from Ewaste, brominated flame retardants and perfluorinated surfactants. Participants will explore the relationships between air quality and asthma, environmental contamination and breast cancer, mercury and neurobehavioral problems, and present information on new technologies for hazardous substance remediation. Related conference sessions will involve participants with primary interests in toxicology, ecology, engineering and management of hazardous wastes. The conference will also include a poster session in which attendees from the region can present their results on issues ranging from environmental and ecosystem health and hazardous waste management and policy to climate change and disaster preparedness.
Finally, because of the importance of the great variety of issues around global warming and climate change, a subject which received significant attention during our 2005 conference, an all day climate change workshop was offered at the conference which explored various aspects of climate change.
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