5th International Symposium on the Sediment Quality Assessments (SQA5)

Aquatic Ecosystem Health and Management Society

October 16-18, 2002
Hotel Allegro
Chicago, Illinois

Co-Chairs:
A. Burton (USA), M. Munawar (Canada) and V. Bierman (USA)

Sponsors:
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Limno-Tech, Inc.
Wright State University
Rohm and Haas Co.
Alcoa
Kennecott Utah Copper Corporation
U.S. Navy

Deadlines:
Abstracts: August 15, 2002
Pre-registration: August 15, 2002
Hotel reservation: September 15, 2002

Objectives & Rationale:
This symposium is the fifth in a series being organized by the Aquatic Ecosystem Health & Management Society (AEHMS). The management of contaminated sediments has become a major issue in environmental policies. Methods and strategies have been developed to assess hazards and risks of contaminated sediments. To identify and prioritize further action, decision-makers need to know what methodologies best answer their specific questions. This symposium aims at presenting the state-of-the-science and technologies in the field of sediment quality assessment. The results should facilitate the input of the best available knowledge and ecotechnology into different decision-making frameworks on measures to be taken. The symposium aims also to convene a select international group of experts having broad experience in freshwater, brackish and marine environments to exchange their current knowledge, criteria and strategies. Both oral and poster papers are invited for presentation and peer reviewed publication in the official journal of the Society: Aquatic Ecosystem Health & Management (Taylor & Francis, Philadelphia) and/or in a peer reviewed book under the Ecovision World Monograph Series sponsored by AEHMS.

Scope & Theme:

The subjects that will be covered in the scientific sessions include:

1. Sediment Transport and Contaminant Flux
  Subsessions:
  • Sediment Quality Guidelines: Accuracy and Strategies for Use

  • Ground water-Surface water Interactions (GSI)

  • Emerging Multi-Process Models

  • Separating Physical and Chemical Stressors
 
2. Sediments and Watershed Management
  Subsessions:
  • Conceptual Framework for Regulators

  • Realistic Assessments vs. Standard Triggers

  • Assessment & Impacts of Mega-Loadings: Nutrients, Pesticides, Pharmaceuticals, Surfactants, Polymers, De-icers, Livestock Wastes
  • Linking Sediment and Water Quality

  • Watershed-based Assessments: Linking Models

  • Conducting Sediment TMDLs

  • "Clean" Sediment Issues: Impact of River Restoration on Sediment Transport, Habitat Forming Processes, Reservoir Capacity
 
3. Microbial Pathogens: Are Sediments A Risk?
  Subsessions:
  • Emerging Detection Technologies

  • Ecological and Human Risk in Aquatic Systems

  • Animal Waste Effects and Control
 
4. Weight of Evidence and Risk-Based Decision Making
  Subsessions:
  • Optimizing Sediment Remediation on the Basis of Risk Reduction

  • Economic Factors in Linking Assessment to Remedies

  • Environmental Consequences of Sediment Removal and Disposal

  • Dealing with Uncertainty:
    • Identification of Natural vs. Anthropogenic Effects, Ranking, Source Detection, Forecasting Time to Target, Bioavailability of Contaminants in Sediments

  • Dealing with Confounding Issues:
    • Food Web Transfer, Reference Site Selection, Effects of Nuisance Aquatic Species on Sediment and Associated Contaminant Dynamics, and Linking Exposures with Effects

  • WOE Approaches: Case Studies
 
5. Emerging Technologies for Assessment and Remediation of Sediments
  Subsessions:
  • Analytical Advances and Forensic Toxicology in Sediment Assessments

  • Rapid Exposure and Effect Characterization

  • Ground water-Surface water Interactions

Keynote Presentations:

Five timely keynote addresses by internationally recognized experts:

Dr. Louis Thibodeaux is a world-recognized expert in chemical-biological processes that control sediment-water fluxes in contaminated sediments. He has also been active in investigating contaminant availability, biotransformation processes and the science of risk management for contaminated sediments.

Dr. Dominic DiToro is world-recognized for his water and sediment quality research that has helped shape regulatory approaches and policy. His recent efforts have focused on sediment flux, TMDLs and sediment quality guidelines.

Dr. Peter M. Chapman has been at the forefront of sediment quality assessments, developing the "Sediment Quality Triad" and providing cutting edge approaches for watershed and sediment quality evaluations.

Dr. Valery Forbes is a leader in applied aquatic ecology, showing the interrelationships between stressors and species, populations and communities using weight-of-evidence approaches.

Dr. Albert Dufour has led the U.S. EPA in the development of recreational pathogen criteria and epidemilogic evaluations of public health risk.

General Information

Steering Committee:
Co-Chairs:

  
  G. A. Burton, Jr., Wright State University, USA
M. Munawar, Fisheries & Oceans, Canada
V. Bierman, Limno-Tech, Inc., USA

Program Committee:
M. Babut, France
G. Dave, Sweden
S. Ireland, USA
T. Naganuma, Japan
 R. Baudo, Italy
P. den Besten, The Netherlands
K. Koop, Australia
P. Ross, USA 		U. Borgmann, Canada
C. vd. Guchte, The Netherlands
D. Malley, Canada

Conference Venue:
The conference will take place in the newly renovated Hotel Allegro (171 West Randolph Street) in the heart of Chicago's entertainment district.

O'Hare and Midway Airports are just 25 minutes away via subway, located one block from the hotel. From O'Hare Airport: I-90 East to Washington, left on Washington to LaSalle, left on W. Randolph. From Midway Airport: Take Cicero Avenue North to I-55 and exit Lakeshore Drive, take a left on W. Randolph.

Additional Information:
There are numerous hotels in the downtown Chicago area. Major airports include Chicago O'Hare and Midway, both of which are serviced by an inexpensive and reliable commuter train (known locally as the "L", for elevated), and, of course, taxis and rental cars. If you are considering the Hotel Allegro for accommodations, reserve by September 15, 2002 to receive a conference rate of $155.00 U.S. per night. A block of rooms has been reserved for the conference. Please contact the hotel directly at: www.allegrochicago.com Phone: (312) 236-0123, (800) 643-1500.

Abstracts:
English is the official conference language. All presentations, posters, and abstracts will be in English. Abstracts must be submitted by email by August 15, 2002 to: bonnellk@dfo-mpo.gc.ca as a Word attachment. WordPerfect or text files also accepted. A message stating oral or poster presentation preference is to be enclosed with the abstract. Abstracts may also be submitted on disk to AEHMS, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, 867 Lakeshore Road, P.O. Box 5050, Burlington, Ontario, Canada, L7R 4A6. Abstracts have a 300 word limit. Underline the presenting author and include affiliation, address and tel/fax/email of the presenting author only. Abstracts should include, but not as headings objectives, methods, results, and conclusions. Authors will be notified of acceptance by August 30, 2002. Slide (35mm) and computer (PowerPoint) projection will be available, as will overhead projection. Authors using PowerPoint presentations should submit their presentations prior to the meeting to ensure compatibility.

Registration

Please complete the enclosed registration form and return by August 15, 2002 to bonnellk@dfo-mpo.gc.ca. The early registration fee is $400 per delegate and includes all conference materials, e.g., program book with abstracts, list of participants, 1 year membership in the Aquatic Ecosystem Health & Management Society (including one year subscription for the journal: AEHM), dinner banquet, and refreshments at breaks. For organizations with 3 or more participants, the registration fee is $300 each. Late registration fees are $450 and $350 for organizations with 3 or more attendees. Payment should accompany the registration form and may be made by check (drawn on an U.S. bank only) or credit card.


Publications Plans:
The AEHMS is responsible for publishing manuscripts originating from the symposium in a special issue of the AEHMS journal: Aquatic Ecosystem Health & Management (Taylor and Francis, Philadelphia) and/or as a collection of thematic papers in a book under the Ecovision World Monograph Series sponsored by the AEHMS. All manuscripts will be peer reviewed. Manuscripts must be prepared in accordance with the "Instructions to authors" and submitted to Dr. M. Munawar, Chief Editor during the conference. The "Instructions to authors" can be obtained by contacting the Chief Editor at munawarm@dfo-mpo.gc.ca. Due to a large number of manuscripts expected it has been decided to implement a page limit for the submission of papers. The following guidelines are proposed for the participants:

Keynote: 10-15 (printed pages of the journal)
Platform: 8-10 pages
Poster: 6-8 pages

Contacts:
Co-Chairs: G. A. Burton, Jr., Wright State University, USA
M. Munawar, Fisheries & Oceans, Canada
V. Bierman, Limno-Tech, Inc., USA 		allen.burton@wright.edu
munawarm@dfo-mpo.gc.ca
vbierman@limno.com

Conference Secretariat: K. Bonnell bonnellk@dfo-mpo.gc.ca