Source: RISK newsletter,
Fourth Quarter 1995, published by the Society for Risk Analysis
The five Society for Risk Analysis specialty groups will hold
their individual meetings on either Sunday evening or Monday
morning of the 1995 SRA Annual Meeting in Hawaii. The meeting
organizers staggered the schedule of specialty group meetings
this year to accommodate anyone wanting to attend more than one
meeting. The following reports include the time for each meeting:
Dose-Response Specialty Group. Five theoretical sessions at the annual meeting will cover the biological basis for dose response mechanisms and mode of action, and quantitative dose-response modeling for cancer and noncancer endpoints. The sessions will include novel approaches applied to old problems and standard approaches used in new areas.
Four applied sessions will investigate established approaches to dose-response for high-interest chemicals, Monte Carlo analysis and physiologically based pharmacokinetic models, and the international harmonization of risk assessment methods. The sessions will have a more limited range of topics than the theoretical sessions but will provide greater depth for such high-impact chemicals as chloroform, chromium, dioxin, methyl tertiary butyl ether, and trichloroethylene.
The Dose-Response Specialty Group will meet on Sunday evening, December 3, from 6:00 to 7:30. For more information, contact Scott Baker of EA Engineering, Science, and Technology Inc., Silver Spring, Maryland, telephone (301) 565-4216, e-mail sb@eaeng.mhs.compuserve.com, fax (301) 587-4752.
Ecological Risk Assessment Specialty Group. Three annual meeting sessions will focus specifically on ecological risk assessment, and several will deal with related issues, such as global climate change. Other papers scheduled throughout the conference will cover a range of topics from ecological risks in the military base closure process and the use of Monte Carlo analysis in evaluating ecological risks and impacts to the challenges of communicating ecological risks.
Risk assessors and managers currently face a variety of issues associated with the process of evaluating potential ecological risks from both chemical and non-chemical stressors, as well as with the interpretation and communication of ecological risk assessment results. The Ecological Risk Assessment Specialty Group invites interested conference participants to join them in discussing these and other topics at its meeting on Monday morning, December 4, from 7:00 to 8:30. For more information, contact William Alsop of Harding Lawson Associates, Novato, California, telephone (415) 884-3136, fax (415) 883-3300.
Engineering Specialty Group. Annual meeting sessions on engineering will include a two-part symposium on the impact of potential climate change on engineered systems and a symposium on maintenance and rehabilitation in engineered water systems. Other sessions will focus on risk management of engineered systems, including nuclear plants.
The Engineering Specialty Group will meet on Sunday evening, December 4, from 6:00 to 7:30. For more information, contact Robert J. Mulvihill of PRC Inc., El Segundo, California, telephone (310) 640-1050 or (619) 721-2540, fax (310) 640-2207, e-mail mulvihill@aol.com.
Exposure Assessment Specialty Group. The annual meeting will include eight platform sessions and two poster sessions specifically oriented toward exposure assessment. The topics include multi-media/pathway exposures, dietary and dermal exposures, special characteristics of Native American populations, and exposures to volatile organic chemicals (VOCs). Additional sessions on risk and Monte Carlo methods will also include treatment of exposure assessment.
The Exposure Assessment Specialty Group will meet on Monday morning, December 4, from 7:00 to 8:30 to choose a new chair-elect and discuss other business. Topics to be discussed will include the 1996 joint meeting of SRA and the International Society of Exposure Analysis (ISEA) in New Orleans. The ISEA technical program committee, which includes SRA Exposure Assessment Specialty Group representatives, has already begun planning the joint meeting.
For more information, contact Thomas E. McKone of the University of California, Davis, telephone (916) 754-8757, fax (916) 752-3394, e-mail tmck@llnl.gov; or its secretary/chair-elect, John C. Kissel of the University of Washington, telephone (206) 543-5111, fax (206) 543-8123, e-mail jkissel@u.washington.edu.
Risk Communication Specialty Group. Risk communication sessions at the annual meeting will include three symposia on public views of nuclear power risks and other hazards, risks in developing countries, and conceptualizations of risk. Three sessions will focus on cross-cultural risk perceptions, communication, and management; and two will deal with stakeholder input into the U.S. Department of Energy risk management. Other topics include communicating about uncertainty, communicating epidemiological and other scientific results, comparative risk and priority-setting, evaluating U.S. Environmental Protection Agency dioxin communication and the results of EPA regulations mandating education on lead in drinking water, designing effective texts, formats and programs for risk communication, and innovative uses of focus groups. Other topics of interest include cross-cultural sessions organized by the Japan Section of SRA and the role of scientists and the public in risk assessment and management.
The Risk Communication Specialty Group will hold its
business meeting on Sunday evening, December 3, from 6:00 to 7:30
to inaugurate new officers and discuss a proposed bylaws change
regarding officers, a specialty group newsletter, and a report on
the annotated bibliography for industry risk communication. For
additional information, contact Branden B. Johnson of the New
Jersey Department of Environmental Protection in Trenton,
telephone (609) 633-2324, fax (609) 292-7340, e-mail
brandenj@eohsi.rutgers.edu.