SETAC North America 36th Annual Meeting
The Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) North America 36th Annual Meeting will be held from November 1-5 at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. Scientists from more than 40 countries, representing business, academia and government, will present and discuss the latest in environmental science with an impressive 1,600 presentations. Topics range from local concerns, such as "Environmental Issues Surrounding the Great Salt Lake," to national challenges, "Canadian Oil Sands: Advancing Science for an Expanding Industry," to global research on climate change, endocrine disruptors and microplastics, to name a few.
Scientific presentations run Monday through Thursday and are organized in 96 platform sessions and four all-day poster presentations. For example, the "Pollinators and Agrochemicals" session on Monday will address best practices for determining the risks of pesticides and other agrochemicals to Apis and non-Apis bees and other pollinators, and ways to minimize the risk of these exposures. On Tuesday, "Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: Five Years Later" will highlight recent advances since the spill, including findings related to understanding the effects of oil and dispersant to aquatic life and habitats, and tracking the fate of oil and dispersants in the environment. Attendees can explore the "Ecological Consequences of Exposure to Pharmaceuticals" on Wednesday, which will cover testing methods, regulatory challenges, accumulation in food chains and other issues arising from human and veterinary pharmaceuticals in the environment. Presenters will try to answer, "What Do We Know About the Ecological Risk of Consumer and Personal Care Product Ingredients?" on Thursday. Ingredients of emerging concern include nano-UV-blockers such as titanium dioxide, antimicrobial agents such as nano-silver and triclosan, and preservatives such as parabens. This session will focus on understanding the ecological risk of personal care product ingredients, what is known about their fate and occurrence in the environment, and the potential effects on aquatic and terrestrial organisms.
In keeping with the meeting theme, "Buzzing With Science: Cross-Pollination for Environmental Progress," four distinguished keynote speakers will address the attendees. At the Sunday opening ceremony, Utah native Lynn de Freitas, Executive Director of Friends of the Great Salt Lake, will address "The Great Salt Lake Ecosystem: Ecologically Distinctive and Economically Significant." Jim Cane with the U.S. Department of Agriculture follows on Monday and will discuss bee communities and how to help measure, understand and mitigate human factors that can shift nesting and foraging opportunities. Tuesday's speaker, David Montgomery with the University of Washington, will show the tangled relationship with microbes and their potential to revolutionize agriculture and medicine. Elaine Dorward-King with the Newmont Mining Corporation will conclude the keynote talks on Wednesday by sharing her experience in developing and implementing sustainable development, safety, health and environmental strategy and programs in the mining, chemical and engineering consulting sectors.
Provided by Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry