Dear Colleagues,
It is a pleasure to report that the response to our First Circular has been overwhelmingly positive. Updates from our side are as follows:
- Sixty scientists from many nations have indicated that they very much hope to participate at the Workshop.
- The Royal Society of Chemistry has agreed to a Special Issue of the Journal of Environmental Monitoring which will be devoted to the papers presented at the Workshop.
- Dr. Jerome Nriagu of the School of Public Health, University of Michigan, has accepted our invitation to present a Plenary Lecture on the evening of May 16th.
- PS Analytical, Kent, England, has agreed to demonstrate the theory and practice of Sb determination using HG-AFS.
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Date:
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16.05.2005 - 19.05.2005 |
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National/International:
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International |
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Language:
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English |
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Type:
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Workshop |
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Location:
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Heidelberg, Germany |
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Contact:
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Dr. Michael Krachler
Email: krachler@ugc.uni-heidelberg.de
Homepage: http://www.rzuser.uni-heidelberg.de/~i02/mkrachler/krachler.htm
Tel: +49 (6221) 54 4848
Fax: +49 (6221) 54 5228
Dr. Bin Chen
Email: b.chen@ugc.uni-heidelberg.de
Homepage:
Tel: +49 (6221) 54 4809
Fax: +49 (6221) 54 5228
Institute of Environmental Geochemistry
University of Heidelberg
Im Neuenheimer Feld 236
69120 Heidelberg, GERMANY |
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Conference web site at:
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There is a small number of research groups actively studying antimony
in the environment. We share many of the same ultimate goals (e.g.
understanding the behaviour and ultimate fate of Sb in the
environment), but often the approach we take and the methods we use to
achieve our objectives are very different.
If you have received our email (15.07.2004), it is because you have
been studying Sb in aerosols, plants, soils, sediments, or natural
waters, or because you have been investigating Sb in areas contaminated
by antimony trioxide production facilities, lead or copper smelters, or
in former Sb mining areas. You already understand that Sb is an
important environmental contaminant, and that there has been very
little in the way of comprehensive studies, especially when compared to
other potentially toxic elements such as Pb.
In our research group, we have been studying atmospheric Sb deposition
using peat cores from bogs but also more recently in ice cores from the
Canadian Arctic. We are convinced that the impacts of human activities
on the global atmospheric Sb cycle have been underestimated by a
considerable margin. We were wondering if this is the right time to
summaries the state-of-the-art of our knowledge about Sb in the
environment.. Specifically, we wanted to know if you thought it would
be helpful for us to meet together to present our most recent findings
in the form of an informal Workshop, and to discuss the latest ideas
about Sb in the environment e.g.
- geology of Sb and mineralogy of Sb in soils and sediments
- analytical chemistry of Sb and Sb species
- isotope geochemistry of Sb
- Sb in the environment from natural and anthropogenic sources in air, soil, water, plants, sediments
- emissions of Sb from modern, industrial uses of Sb, and temporal trends
- the fate of Sb in waste streams, soils, and sediments
- Sb and human health
The response to our email has been overwhelmingly positive, we are now
planning to hold a small workshop in Heidelberg. Please let us know if
you would be interested to attend. If so, please provide us with a
tentative title of your contribution, and whether you would prefer to
give an oral presentation, or to bring along a poster. We would expect
to have ca. 20 posters, and ca. 20 oral presentations.
The conference will be held in Heidelberg on May 17-19, 2005.
The Journal of Environmental Monitoring has agreed to the publication
in a Special Issue about Antimony in the Environment. JEM is an up and
coming environmental journal which is professionally managed by the
Royal Society of Chemistry and has an average publication time of 109
days. All of the papers would be peer reviewed in the usual way. Please
also let us know if you would be prepared to submit a manuscript
summarising your work, for publication in the JEM Special Issue. All
manuscripts for the Special Issue should be submitted directly to JEM,
and will be handled and peer reviewed in the usual way.
This email constitutes a tentative list of possible participants.
Please accept our sincere apology for any omissions - we would
appreciate it if they are brought to our attention. Please do pass
along this email to any of your colleagues who might be interested in
participating at the Workshop.
We expect to be able to prepare a DRAFT program for the meeting by the end of October.
We believe that the number of participants at the workshop should be
kept as small as possible: the main goal is to provide a chance to get
together and informally discuss our work in detail.
We have no budget for this, but we have applied to the German Science
Foundation for support. Young scientists in particular, will be
encouraged to attend. If we are fortunate with our application, we
would be able to support some part of travel and accommodation costs.
Failing this, it would be the responsibility of each participant to
arrange for travel and living expenses.
Heidelberg is a central location for the European participants, and we
are easy to reach from North America via Frankfurt. Heidelberg is a
beautiful, historic city, and we would include a walking tour and a
Brauerei visit as part of the program.....
We look forward to hearing from you at your convenience. With kind regards.
Sincerely,
William Shotyk
Michael Krachler
Bin Chen
