Title: Fourth International Symposium on Contaminated Sediments: Sustainable Management and Remediation
Dates: Tuesday June 30 2009 - Friday July 03 2009
Location: Trinity College Dublin, Ireland,
Sponsored by: D18
Deadline for Abstract Submittal: Friday March 9 2008
Deadline for Paper Submittal: Monday September 01 2008

ABOUT THE EVENT

Papers are invited for the Fourth International Symposium on Contaminated Sediments: Sustainable Management and Remediation, sponsored by ASTM Committee D18 on Soil and Rock and Trinity College Dublin, Ireland, in cooperation with the Canadian Civil Engineering Society (CSCE) and the Canadian Geotechnical Society (CGS). The symposium will be held June 30 - July 3, 2009 at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland.

Chairpersons:
Mark Dyer, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland (SGG)
Loretta Li, University of British Columbia (CGS, CSCE)
Rosa Galvez, Laval University (ASTM International, CSCE, CGS)
Ronald C. Chaney, Humboldt State University (ASTM International)

Background and Perspectives:
Urbanization, industrial revolution, and deficient waste disposal practices have left a legacy of polluted sediments in rivers, estuaries, lakes and seas. Pollutants of concern range from trace compounds, such as pharmaceutical substances (emerging contaminants), to high concentration compounds such as petroleum hydrocarbons released during oil spills or heavy metals carried within mine effluents. In all cases, these contaminants will represent a potential risk to aquatic ecosystems and water resources that, in turn, will affect public health or commercial and recreational activities.

The awareness of this threat has introduced, in most countries, stricter regulations that have stopped some inappropriate disposal practices (for example, disposal of contaminated dredged sediments in open sea waters). The coming of the sustainable development (world wide) movement is bringing new concepts and principles. These new concepts and principles are presently driving technological development in the site-restoration engineering practice. Nevertheless, pollution prevention, multiple contaminant and complex site layouts greatly challenge engineers and scientists who are called upon to develop solutions that are technically, economically, and socially sound.

The venue of this symposium series is becoming a tradition. In this Fourth event, the organizing committee aims to offer a round-table/forum where to exchange, debate and diffuse new knowledge and scientific findings and technology advances, but also to offer an opportunity to learn from world experts' experiences. For this symposium, the targeted audience and the presenters' backgrounds are broader than the previous ISCSs. The theme and topics presented below will assure a series of multi-disciplinary and inter-disciplinary rich presentations. The objective is to reach academia, government organizations, private sector and other stakeholder bodies, such as watershed associations, and ensuring a healthy debate and exchange.

Themes:
The symposium aims to attract a wide variety of papers from multidisciplinary backgrounds. The themes for the symposium include, but are not limited to:

• Sustainable Principles and Actions
• Ecotoxicology and Sediment Quality Assessment Tools
• Site Characterization
• Engineered Remediation Technologies
• Natural Recovery and Attenuation Processes
• Risk Assessment and Decision Making Methods
• Monitoring and Performance Evaluation
• Habitat Restoration and Biodiversity
• Stakeholder Needs and Expectations

Special presentations - A number of case studies are under consideration for presentation:

• Venice Lagoon (Italy)
• Mekong River (Malaysia)
• St Lawrence Estuary (Canada)
• Istanbul Straights (Turkey)
• Tolka River and Estuary (Ireland)
• Tokyo and Okinawa Bay (Japan)
• Biwa Lake (Japan)
• Oslo Harbour (Norway)