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ACTRA Australasian College of Toxicology
and Risk Assessment |
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September 2008 E-Newsletter |
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Member news… |
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President’s Report |
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The year 2008 has marched on inexorably
and we are once again approaching that part of the year where thoughts must
turn towards the Annual General Meeting and processes for taking ACTRA
forward. Consistent with the Management Committee’s policy of convening the
AGM at different national locations on a recurring basis, this year’s AGM
will be held in Brisbane, at the new laboratory and office complex of the
UQ’s National Research Centre for Environmental Toxicology (EnTox) in
suburban Coopers Plains. The date is Monday
27 October 2008, and formal notices with the agenda will be sent out to
members in due course, as required by corporation law. Mark this date in your diary.
This year, the format for the day will be more like a scientific conference,
with a session allocated for members to contribute scientific papers in the
form of short presentations or posters. This will be followed by the formal
AGM, and an afternoon workshop on the management of social aspects of risk. We hope that as many members as
possible will attend the October AGM and workshop to support ACTRA. As I
outlined in the previous newsletter, the success of ACTRA depends on members
being willing to pitch in and help to organise activities for the benefit of
members and to assist with its management. Consistent with the requirements
of the Constitution adopted at the last AGM, the formal papers for the AGM
will call for nominations to all of the positions on the Management
Committee, which has been operating in an interim capacity in 2008. I strongly urge you to consider serving on
the Management Committee and nominating for one of these positions. In some ways, 2008 has been a
disappointing year in terms of the activities that your Management Committee
has been able to organise. Plans to
hold a mid-year workshop in Perth highlighting recent research on the
environmental toxicology of nickel have had to be put on hold while we await
further collaboration and support from nickel industry partners. We hope that
this workshop can be re-scheduled for early 2009. Your Management Committee
understands that co-operation and collaboration with other groups with
comparable interests offers opportunities for mutually beneficial outcomes.
The basis for such co-operative activities has been formalised so that the
benefits can be maximised while any risks to ACTRA’s standing and reputation
are minimised. So far in 2008, ACTRA has co-operated with ERM in running a
short course on risk assessment of contaminated sites, in Perth in March, and
with EnTox in its Short Course on Environmental Health Risk Assessment on the
Gold Coast in July. In September. Both of these activities helped to further
ACTRA’s continuing education program, and also assisted with its membership
recruitment drive by publicising ACTRA and its professional objectives. ACTRA will be a co-sponsor of a
short course on basic principles of environmental health risk assessment and
risk communication. This 3-day program is part of a Monash University Spring
School offering (more details elsewhere in this Newsletter). A proposal for
ACTRA to co-operate with the Australian Institute of Occupational Hygienists
in its 26th annual conference in Perth in early December will come
forward for consideration in the near future. Brian Priestly |
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Membership Committee Report |
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As we move towards be Annual General Meeting on 27
October 2008 I am pleased to note that membership figures for this year
are increasing. Opportunities having
taken to advertise ACTRA widely at meetings of SETAC, EHRA and others. One of the most important things in the
forthcoming year will be to attract ecotoxicologists to become members of
ACTRA. Other areas that members
should be seeking to support is in nominating emeritus and student members
who attract the reduced annual registration fee of $25 + GST. In view of the necessary charge made for
the AGM with supplements for nonmembers it is very much worth their while
seeking membership independent of the benefits ACTRA brings to them. Trial runs are planned for the
registration process following these spreadsheet which has been circulated
previously with some modification. It
is anticipated that during the calendar year 2009 will proceed to full
implementation of the registration process.
As members will recall a tribunal will be established for each diet of
registrations. Membership of this
tribunal will include one ACTRA committee member, one-person with external
registration such as DABT and another from elsewhere in the world expert in
toxicology. In the first instance
where registration is approved members will be able to have the style of; a
Member of the Register of Australasian Toxicologists and Risk Assessors,
MRATRA. At the last meeting of
committee it was decided that this would be supported through an initial
registration fee coupled with an annual maintenance fee. A final decision has to be made on these
fees. Michael Moore |
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News from other organisations and members… |
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Small-area studies on environmental health
risks |
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Exposure to environmental agents
which represent a potential health risk are often limited by geographical or
other features which define small at-risk groups or sub-populations. A
mini-monograph in the current edition of Environmental Health Perspectives
(EHP 116: 1098- 1124, Aug 2008) explores the design and interpretation of
small-scale spatial epidemiological studies. Among the papers is one by Ball
et al which compares methods for analysing cancer data from the Utah Cancer
Registry to assess risks for a defined smaller population living over
contaminated groundwater plumes. Submitted by Brian Priestly |
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Short Course in Health Risk
Assessment and Risk Communication |
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In conjunction with the Monash
University Spring School on Public Health & Preventive Medicine ACTRA is co-operating
with the Australian Centre for Human Health Risk Assessment (ACHHRA) to
present a 3-day short course covering basic concepts of health risk
assessment, risk management and risk communication. The course is structured
around the enHealth guidance document Environmental Health Risk Assessment:
Guidelines for assessing health risks from environmental hazards. With a
course fee of $600, it offers good value for money. Further details may be found at
the website of the Spring School. http://www.med.monash.edu.au/epidemiology/shortcrs/ss-home.html Submitted by
Brian Priestly |
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Toxicology Career Surveys |
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The Seventh Triennial Toxicology
Salary Survey results are now available on the SOT website, providing
employment and salary information based on responses from 3,424
toxicologists. This survey was conducted by Shayne Gad, Gad Consulting, and
the Society of Toxicology (SOT) Career Resource and Development (CRAD) Committee.
In addition to SOT, the organizations that participated in this salary survey
include the Academy of Toxicological Sciences, American Board of Toxicology,
American College of Toxicology, Environmental Mutagen Society, Safety
Pharmacology Society, Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, and
the Teratology Society. http://www.toxicology.org/ai/apt/seventhtrisurvey.asp Submitted by Peter Di
Marco |
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Upcoming meetings, events and courses |
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2008 |
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Eurotox 2008 45th Congress of the European Societies of
Toxicology 5-8 October 2008 Rhodes, Greece Please click here to visit the meeting website. |
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ACTRA Secretariat
Please
remember that we are always here to help at anytime if you have any queries
relating to your ACTRA membership, or any other business relating to ACTRA. ACTRA Secretariat Meetings First 4/184 Main Street LILYDALE VIC
3140 Phone +61 3 9739 7697 Fax +61 3 9739 7076 |