43rd edition – Maastricht (Netherlands)
The Dioxin Congress will finally take place in Maastricht, The Netherlands from 10 to 14 September 2023. It was originally planned to take place in Liege, Belgium, but the original venue is no longer available due to construction.
We hope that this new edition will bring back the momentum that used to gather between 600 and 1000 participants each year. Indeed, the Dioxin congress is an important moment of exchange and collaboration between scientists from all over the world. It allows our researchers, engineers, students and experts to exchange, discover, deepen and better understand all these fields in which they work throughout the year in order to improve our daily lives, preserve the planet and anticipate the changes of tomorrow.
A wide range of areas of intervention
The fields of intervention are multiple:
- Advances in analytical methods for POPs (persistent organic pollutants)
- Levels and trends/futures: abiotic/biota/food
- Human exposure level
- Metabolism
- Toxicology / Ecotoxicology / Epidemiology
- Physico-chemical properties and modelling
- Risk assessment and management
- Training / Source and controls
- From science to politics
- PFAS toxicity / Frequency and exposure
- Micro- and nano-plastics
- Fate, detection and analysis of chlorinated paraffins
- Exposure to emerging contaminants in our environment
- Environmental and human exposure to plasticisers and other chemicals
- Screening and identifying new contaminants
- Legacy and emerging flame retardants: biotransformation and toxicity / occurrence and exposure
- POPs (persistent organic pollutants) in the polar regions
- Advances in bioremediation of POPs
- POPs monitoring in Europe
- Current situation and perspectives on POPs waste management
Persistent organic pollutants (POPs)
Global contamination by POPs, persistent organic pollutants, is now a matter of great concern because of the properties of these so-called eternal pollutants:
- They are persistent and degrade very slowly.
- They are bioaccumulative: they accumulate in all living beings and in our environment.
- They are toxic: many harmful effects, particularly on our health, have already been confirmed and research is continuing.
- They are mobile and spread over great distances, even in places where the presence of humans is negligible (e.g. the Arctic).
Among these POPs, the family of PFAS, per- and poly-fluoroalkyl compounds, represents a complex group of several thousand chemical compounds. They are used for many purposes: food packaging, waterproof textiles, non-stick coatings, cosmetics, fire-fighting foams, plant protection products, etc.
Until now, the best known were PFOA and PFOS, which are on the list regulated by the Stockholm Convention, which came into force in May 2004, and which also bans the production and use of PFHxS. Other PFASs, including HFPO-DA, PFBS and PFHpA, are now listed as substances of very high concern under the REACH Regulation in Europe.
Increased monitoring in food and surface water is underway in Europe pending a change in regulation by January 2024. Now we need to improve our scientific and technological knowledge to better assess and monitor the health impacts of these perennial pollutants. The stakes are high and the Dioxin’2023 congress is at the heart of these worrying issues.
DIOXIN'2023 Symposium
The format of the congress – numerous simultaneous conferences, poster sessions and convivial moments – makes it an event appreciated by all participants. It will also be an opportunity to come together after the long and difficult period we have all been through in recent years.
This symposium allows scientists to present their research work, the methods used and the equipment needed to carry out their projects. It is also a time for privileged exchanges because each conference is followed by a question and answer session during which they can discuss the problems they have encountered in order to fine-tune their methods of analysis and compare the different solutions proposed by each.
Dioxin is also a high place of exchange between users and suppliers of laboratory equipment and consumables. 2 companies represented by BCP Instruments will be present and sponsor the congress:
- Wellington Laboratories (Guelph, Canada) are among the platinum sponsors: Wellington has been a privileged partner of the Dioxin congress for many years. Wellington is a manufacturer of analytical standards for environmental analysis: its range includes Dioxins/Furans, PCBs, PBDEs, flame retardants and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in particular; in individual solutions and/or native mixtures and/or carbon-13 labelled.
- Chiron AS Laboratories (Trondheim, Norway) also prepare laboratory reagents in various fields such as the environment, agri-food, pharmacology/toxicology, petrochemistry, etc. These reagents are available either as individual solutions and/or mixes, or pure for some of them.
Registration for the congress will open in April… don’t forget to register before the end of June to benefit from the best price!
Proposals for lectures/posters (excerpts) are being sent from 6 March to 28 April.
For more information, visit the official website of the Dioxin’2023 Congress.
See you soon in Maastricht!