AWA Contaminants of Concern in WaterSpecialty Conference 8th-9th November 2011Mercure Hotel, 818 George Street, Sydney NSW

Conference Overview

Access to clean, fresh and contaminant-free water is considered by many to be a basic human right. Fortunately for most Australians, priority is given to security of supply and protection of public health .

In order to maintain confidence in the public supply system and related services, those involved in the water industry need to be continually aware of potential threats to quality from pollutants. In the main, these “contaminants of concern” come from agricultural runoff, industrial and commercial chemical discharges, stormwater and domestic wastewater as a result of incidental or deliberate action. However, there are other, newer sources of potential risk to public health and safety arising as a result of increased contact with poorer quality water as a source for drinking water when clean surface waters may not be readily available. Reclaimed and recycled water is also distributed more widely and used by a large population, not always for the purpose intended by authorities. This conference attempts to examine current known contaminants of concern in water, follow the research on new and emerging concerns and move towards greater understanding of the real versus the imagined risks that would arise from greater reliance on less traditional sources of water.

Conference Themes

• Chemical,microbial,naturalandsynthesisedcontaminantsinwater;• Impactsofcontaminantsontheaquaticenvironmentandtreatmentprocesses;• Emergingcontaminantswhichposearisktohumanandenvironmentalhealth;• Treatmentprocessmodificationstodealwithcontaminantthreats.

Keynote Speakers

Conference organisers have invited three international scientists and five Australian experts in the behaviour and management of contaminants in water to deliver oral presentations at the conference. Those invited include:

• AndersBaum–oneofEurope’skeyexpertsonbehaviourofengineerednano-particlesinaquaticenvironments;• YuJungChang–researchedextensivelyonadvancedprocessesforremovalofarsenicinwatertreatment;• SébastienSauvé–manganeseindrinkingwaterandriskstohumanhealth,particularlythatofyoungchildren;• LeighSullivan–highlyregardedforworkonthemobilisationofionsfromacidsulphatesoilsandtherelatedimplicationsoflowdissolvedoxygentoconsiderduringwatertreatment;

• BrettNeilan–impactsonwatertreatmentprocessesofstudiesidentifyingthegenesthatproducepotent algaltoxins;

• LindsaySlyandDavidDixon–biologicaloxidationofmanganese;• GlobalResearchCoalitionnomineetospeakabouttheworkonchromiuminitsvariousforms,anditspresence

in and removal from drinking water.

Call for PapersClosing date 31 July 2011

Conference FormatThe conference will be staged over two days in a top rated, central business district hotel in Sydney with access to public transport and taxis. The program organisers are looking to develop a high quality, technical schedule of papers to complement the presentations by the keynote speakers. A conference dinner will be held on the evening of the first day to facilitate networking and enable participants to meet the visitors.

Dependingonnumbers,theconferencewilllookto provide up to three concurrent streams of papers as oral presentations, together with a poster session. Abstract submissions should indicate whether an oral or a poster presetnation is preferred. The conference committee will be the final arbiter of the ultimate assignment of any submission to oral or poster sessions. Poster givers will be given an opportunity to speak to their poster as well as display it.

Themes/StreamsPapers addressing all issues associated with the presence, effects and treatment of contaminants (microbial, chemical, natural or synthesised) in waters, including the following, would be of interest for inclusion in the program. Organisers would particularly welcome papers in the following fields:• Inorganics,metalsandmetalloids–arsenic,chromium,manganese,radionuclides,lead;

• Nanoparticlesinaquaticenvironments–healtheffects,organiccarbon,treatmentissues;

• Processesleadingtomobilisationinacid sulphatesoils;

• Lowdissolvedoxygenlevelsinsource waters–issuesfortreatment;

• GeneralparasitesbeyondjustGiardia and Cryptosporidium;

• Microbiologicalandalgaltoxins;• Microbialactivityingroundwater;• Hormonesandpharmaceuticals.

To Submit an Abstract of your Paper

Abstracts(upto600words)mustbetextonly– noimages,tablesorgraphs–andshowclearly:• Title• Authorsnameandaffiliation• Keywords• Oralpresentationorposter. The review panel will allocate accepted abstracts to the most relevant theme. Presentations will be selected based on their topicality, originality and significance to the target audience. Abstracts of a purely commercial nature willberejected.

Submission Confirmation, Access Key and Speaker ZoneAfter completing your abstract submission, you will receive an email containing your personal access key. This access key can be used to enter the ‘Speaker Zone’whereyouwillbeableto:• View/changeyourcontactdetailsoryourabstract,abstracttitle,theme,authorsetc;

• Addadditionalabstracts,ifrequired;• Registerfortheconference(secureonline

registration) at a later date.

Abstract SubmissionBeforesubmittingyourabstract,pleaseensureyou have carefully read the abstract preparation guidelines contained on this website. As you complete the details on each page, please note the following: • ClickContinuetoproceedtothenextsection;• UsetheTabkeytomovefromonefieldtothenext.Youwillberequiredtoprovidecontactdetailsofthesubmitting author and details of each abstract (abstract title, authors, preferred presentation type, and theme). On completion of this form, you will be issued with a password which is required to access your abstract submission to edit at a later date, if required.

AWA Contaminants of Concern in Water:Call for Papers