Society for EnvironmentalSEGH Newsletters
Archive Issues: June 2007 European Conference | December 2007 | March 2007 | April 2006 (pdf) | September 2004 | November 2003 | June 2003 | November 2002 | August 2002 | December 2001 | June 2001
Dear Members,
This first issue of INTERFACE for 2001 contains a report of the 19th European SEGH Conference held in Manchester in April 2001. This was a well-attended meeting covering all aspects of Environmental Geochemistry and Health and, in the section on articles/news, you will find the abstracts of the oral and poster presentations by the five prize-winners. Details of the next European Conference as well as the tentative dates for the 5th International Conference on Arsenic Exposure and Health Effects can be found in the sections on forthcoming meetings. Looking further ahead to 2003, the dates for the 6th ISEG as well as the composition of the recently formed Local Organising Committee are reported.
I have received only a small number of articles (one!) from SEGH members about research news and would like to have an enlarged section on this topic in the next issue – including articles from members from all branches of the Society (i.e. North America, Europe, Asia Pacific). I am therefore taking this opportunity to request that articles of this nature be sent to me by October 2001 for inclusion in the next issue. I should also be grateful to receive details of SEGH or related conferences, including dates, location and contact details.
Margaret Graham
(Margaret.Graham@ed.ac.uk)
University of Edinburgh
June 2001
There were about 80 delegates present at the 19th European SEGH Conference
held in Manchester Metropolitan University on 9th-11th April, 2001. The
programme included some 35 oral presentations and 29 poster presentations.
Of these, 20 oral and 13 poster presentations were given by Ph.D. students.
After opening remarks by the Conference Chairman, Dr. Kevin Taylor, Manchester Metropolitan University, the first keynote presentation, given by Simon Talbot (Director of Greater Manchester Geology Unit) on the ‘Legacy of contamination in Greater Manchester’, illustrated the role of the local authorities in earmarking contaminated sites and initiating remediation and redevelopment of these urban areas. This was followed by several presentations on analysis and methods in a wide range of contaminated environments including Victorian works, urban sediments, iron-rich industrial wastes and groundwaters.
The sessions on Soil Geochemistry were preceded by a historical overview titled ‘Environmental Geochemistry: the first science dedicated to man?’ In her presentation, Professor Alina Kabata-Pendias (IUNG, Poland) described the almost independent foundations of the subject in Russia, America and Europe. For a sound environment in the future, she recommended that new research in Environmental Geochemistry be focused to serve decision makers with the information required to solve environmental problems both at the national and international level.
The second day of the meeting commenced with a keynote presentation by Ron Freethy (Mersey Basin Campaign) on ‘Water quality in the Mersey basin catchment’, in which he clearly illustrated the improvements to water quality that have been made in the first part of the Mersey Basin Campaign. The restoration of fish populations, resulting mainly from the reduction in sewage discharges and removal of litter from waterways, was extremely encouraging. He then outlined plans to further improve water quality. This would require a better understanding of the role of the silty sediments in water contamination and he suggested that research projects in this area would be helpful. The sessions on Aquatic Environments included further presentations on aquatic sediments (dredged canal, river, estuarine and saltmarsh) as well as about urban water quality modelling.
The remaining sessions of the meeting were on ‘Impacts on Health and Organisms’. ‘Their health in our hands; toxicology, geochemistry and health’ was the topic of the presentation by keynote speaker, Virginia Murray (St. Thomas and Guys Hospital, London). Other presentations included studies relating to human health, e.g. optimised uncertainty in food analysis, environmental behaviour of endocrine disruptors. In addition, impact of environmental contamination on other organisms was described in, for example, studies of mercury accumulation in the sedentary piscivorous fish, Cichla.
An evening buffet at the Manchester Museum, during which John Farmer, Iain Thornton and Alina Kabata-Pendias made short speeches and Joy Carter presented student prizes, was enjoyed by all.
The meeting concluded with a Field Trip to Worsley Delph and Salford Quays.
Margaret C. Graham
INTERFACE Editor
June 2001
This will be held at the University of Debrecen, Hungary, from Wednesday 4th September to Friday 6th September, 2002. The Chairman of the Conference will be Prof. Zoltán Györi, Center of Agricultural Sciences, Faculty of Agronomy, University of Debrecen.
Further details of the Conference will appear in the next issue of INTERFACE,
but in the meantime, contact can be made with Prof. Györi (gyori@helios.date.hu)
or Dr. Bela Kovacs (kovacsb@helios.date.hu).
6th International Symposium on Environmental Geochemistry, 2003
This will be held in Edinburgh, Scotland, from Sunday 7th September to
Thursday 11th September, 2003. The Local Organising Committee, now hard
at work, consists of John Farmer (Chairman, University of Edinburgh),
Fiona Fordyce (BGS, Edinburgh), Margaret Graham (University of Edinburgh),
Gus MacKenzie (SURRC, East Kilbride), Keith Nicholson (MacRoberts, Glasgow)
and Margaret Sherry (InConference, Edinburgh). The composition of the
Scientific Programme Committee will shortly be completed and announced,
along with the International Advisory Panel, in the next issue of INTERFACE
and on the Symposium website, iseg2003.com, which will soon be operational.
Prize-winners from 19th European SEGH Conference, Manchester, UK, 9th-11th
April 2001
There were three prizes awarded for the best oral presentations and two
prizes for the best poster presentations given by Ph.D. students at the
19th European SEGH Conference in April 2001. The abstracts for each of
the prize-winning presentations have been printed in full below.
Oral Presentations
1st Prize: Kathleen Holding
The relationship between epilithic periphyton (biofilm) and sediment trace
metals in freshwater systems.
K.L. Holding, R.A. Gill, J.E. Carter
School of Environmental and Applied Sciences, University of Derby, Kedleston
Road, Derby, DE22 1GB, UK
At the SEGH European Branch AGM held at the recent 19th European Conference of SEGH in Manchester, England, the undernoted were elected or re-instated as Office-bearers and Committee members for 2001-02. The contribution made by Anthea Brown as Membership Secretary over many years was warmly acknowledged by all present. No replacement has yet been found!
Chairman Joy Carter (University of Derby)
Secretary Malcolm Brown (BGS, Keyworth)
Treasurer Keith Nicholson (MacRoberts, Glasgow)
Membership Secretary to be announced
Committee Members Aradhana Mehra (University of Derby)
Michael Ramsey (University of Sussex)
Alex Stewart (Liverpool)
Gary Gray (University of Derby)
Ex-offico (past Chairmen) John Farmer (University of Edinburgh)
Ron Fuge (University of Wales)
Iain Thornton (Imperial College)
Members of the Executive Board, June 2001
President Jim Fricke
Resource Management
Consultants, Midvale, Utah,
USA (jfricke@xmission.com)
Vice-President John G. Farmer
University of Edinburgh,
Scotland (J.G.Farmer@ed.ac.uk)
Secretary Bobby G. Wixson
(Past-Pres.)
Springfield MO, USA
(DRBGWIXSON@aol.com)
Treasurer Nord L. Gale (Past-Pres.)
University of MO-Rolla, Rolla
MO, USA
(nlgale@umr.edu)
Councillors Charles Abernathy
HRAB 4304 EPA,
Washington DC, USA
(abernathy.charles@epa.gov)
Joy Carter (Pres. Europe)
SEAS University of Derby,
England (j.carter@derby.ac.uk)
Willard Chappell
University of Colo-Denver,
Denver CO, USA
(wchappel@carbon.cudenver
.edu)
Andrew Hunt
SUNY Upstate Medical
University, Syracuse, NY,
USA (hunta@upstate.edu)
Xiangdong Li
(Pres. Asia/Pacific)
Hong Kong Polytechnic,
Hong Kong, China
(cexdli@polyu.edu.hk)
Theodora A. Tsongas
Environmental Health
Department, Portland OR, USA
(theodora.a.tsongas@state.or.us)
Past Presidents Richard Cothern
Chevy Chase, MD, USA
(rcothern@nova.umuc.edu)
Ron Fuge
University of Wales,
Wales (rrf@aber.ac.uk)
Betsy T. Kagey
Cumberland, MD, USA
(bkagey@mail.frostburg.edu)
Iain Thornton (Past-Pres.)
Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, England (i.thornton@ic.ac.uk)
European Malcolm J. Brown (Sec.)
Branch British Geological Survey,
England (mjbro@bgs.ac.uk)
Asia/Pacific Ron T. Watkins (Sec.)
Branch Curtin University of
Technology, Perth, Australia
(iwatkins@info.curtin.edu.au)
Journal Editor Brian E. Davies (Past Pres.)
Clemson University, Clemson, SC, USA
(bdavies@clemson.edu)
Interface Editor Margaret C. Graham
University of Edinburgh,
Scotland (Margaret.Graham@ed.ac.uk)
Forthcoming Meetings
SEGH Meetings
3rd Asia/Pacific Symposium
on Environmental Geochemistry
Location: Guangzhou, P.R. China
Dates: 7-9 November, 2001
Contact: Dr. Ron T. Watkins
(iwatkins@info.curtin.edu.au)
Environmental Inorganic Geochemistry Group,
Curtin University of Technology,
GPO Box U1987, Perth 6845, Australia.
Website: http://www.gig.ac.cn/apseg.htm
20th European SEGH Conference
Location: Debrecen, Hungary
Dates: 4-6 September, 2002
Contact: Prof. Zoltán Györi
(gyori@helios.date.hu)
Dr. Bela Kovacs
(kovacsb@helios.date.hu)
Center of Agricultural Sciences,
Faculty of Agronomy, University of Debrecen.
5th International Conference on Arsenic Exposure and Health Effects
Location: San Diego, California
Dates: 14-17 July 2002 (tentative)
Contact: Willard Chappell
(wchappel@carbon.cudenver.edu)
University of Colo-Denver, Denver CO, USA
Other Meetings of Interest
6th International Conference on
the Biogeochemistry of Trace Elements
Location: Guelph, Ontario, Canada
Dates: 29 July - 2 August, 2001
Contact: Dr. Kim Bolton
(icobte.crle.uoguelph.ca)
Department of Land Resource Science,
University of Guelph, Ontario, N1G 2W1, Canada
Website: http://icobte.crle.uoguelph.ca
6th International Symposium
on Environmental Geochemistry (ISEG)
Location: Edinburgh, UK
Dates: 7-11 September, 2003
Contact: Dr. John G. Farmer
(J.G.Farmer@ed.ac.uk)
Department of Chemistry,
University of Edinburgh, West Mains Road,
Edinburgh, EH9 3JJ, UK.