Human Biomonitoring
Political benefits - scientific challenges
26 - 28 September 2010, Ludwig Erhard Haus, Berlin, Germany
An Invitation to Berlin
Dear Madam,
Dear Sir,
We warmly invite you to come to Berlin/Germany in September this year and join us in the heart of this beautiful city. Policy makers, scientists, occupational and public health professionals, environment professionals, industry representatives, NGO’s and many others active in the field of chemical safety and environmental health will gather for an international conference on
Human Biomonitoring: Political benefits – scientific challenges
26 to 28 September 2010
at the Ludwig Erhard-Haus in Berlin
It would give us great pleasure to welcome you to this conference.
Objectives
We use human biomonitoring (HBM) to measure the concentration of substances in the human body. This enables us to obtain scientific data on which substances in the environment are absorbed by an organism and which population groups are most affected. In combination with toxicological and medical findings, HBM data can be used to determine whether the level of exposure of the public is acceptable health-wise or whether measures need to be taken. At the same time, HBM acts as a monitoring instrument to ascertain whether bans on substances or restrictions on their use have actually led to a decrease in exposure. Finally, HBM also provides us with information on substance properties: HBM data can be used to determine whether substances are persistent or bioaccumulating.
With this conference we are aiming
- to discuss the potential and limits of human biomonitoring for determining and assessing how the population is affected,
- to take a critical look at which substances, which effect markers and which health impacts should be considered,
- to discuss the incorporation of HBM into national and international initiatives on environmental health,
- to contribute to the networking of international HBM activities and thus to improved comparability of data collected worldwide.
Programme
The conference will officially start on 27 September 2010 at 9.30 a.m. with an opening speech given by Dr. Norbert Röttgen, Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety of Germany. On the eve of the conference, on 26 September 2010, there will be a welcome reception with - what we call - a “scientific appetizer” for anybody already in Berlin. Niels Erik Skakkebæk (University of Copenhagen/DK) will give a first lecture entitled “Endocrine disrupters and reproductive health: a serious research challenge”.
The conference comprises segments that are primarily geared towards dialogue with scientific experts and segments geared towards the interested public. German/English simultaneous interpretation will be provided for the latter. The scientific part of the conference will be in English only.
End of the conference: 28 September 2010, 5.30 p.m.
Registration
The conference is fully booked. Attendance is now only possible on enquiry.
Please contact: conference@fbuberlin.de
Call for posters
The call for abstract is now closed.
The scientific committee for poster exhibit will notify the authors of acceptance/rejection of their contribution by 31 August 2010.
Important dates
- Deadline for registration: 19 August 2010
- Deadline for poster abstract submission: 20 August 2010
- Notification of acceptance/rejection of posters: 31 August 2010
With kind regards on behalf of the organizing team,
Dr. Marike Kolossa-Gehring
Federal Environment Agency, Berlin/Germany
Dr. Birgit Wolz
Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, Bonn/Germany