The ENVIRONMIN 2007 conference is taking place 23 - 25 July 2007. The venue for this exciting conference is the well-known BAKGATLA Resort. Situated in the majestic Pilanesberg National Park where "The Big Five" roam.
Goals and ScopeThe aim of the conference is to facilitate interdisciplinary discussions about all environmental and health issues concerned with the mining and refining of ores. The main themes for this meeting are the work environment, environmental exposure and impact, as well as monitoring methodologies and risk assessment. These, in turn, require an understanding and application of analytical science, geochemistry, biochemistry, clinical chemistry, environmental science, toxicology, medical implications, environmental and occupational health, epidemiology, monitoring methodology as well as all the regulatory practices related to these fields.
Scientific ProgrammeThe programme will consist of 4 days of oral and poster presentations, and discussion. All contributors are requested to focus on
recent research results. Oral presentations, invited and submitted, will be 25 and 15 minutes in duration. An additional 5 minutes will be allowed for questions. Poster presentations will be organised in themes, and after formal viewing an in-depth discussion will be held in which authors will be asked to present the salient features of their posters in 5 minutes. Conference topics include
- Occupational health: assessing underground and workplace exposure, health aspects associated with the mining and refining of metals.
- Environmental toxicology: source characterisation, long-term fate and transport, contaminant pathways, local contamination of air, soil, vegetation, sediments and water, impact on the environment.
- Analytical trace analysis: continuous monitoring (on-line, in-line, at site), monitoring markers of exposure, effects and susceptibility, environmental sampling strategies, advances in environmental spectroscopy.
- Speciation of contaminants and pollutants.
- Epidemiology and risk assessment: Causal relationships, hazard identification, characterisation and mitigation.
Venue:The venue reflects the theme of the conference. Pilanesberg National Park is 50 000 hectares in size and is situated on the eroded remains of an extinct alkaline volcanic crater The park not only has populations of lion, leopard, black and white rhino, elephant and buffalo - but also cheetah, giraffe, zebra, hippo and crocodile as well as many other game species. Close by are major platinum and vanadium mines and the Witwatersrand gold mining complex. Bakgatla is located inside the reserve and is a Golden Leopard Resort and a member of RCI (
http://www.goldenleopard.co.za/).
