Chemicals are an important part of modern life. From the soaps and toothpastes that we use in the morning, to those used at work and the manufacture of new products, and those used to manage agricultural pests. These chemicals all have hazards. It is important for the health of people and the environment that the risks from these hazards are managed properly. The panel presents a variety of how New Zealand’s regulators look at these risks from a range of perspectives, including importing or manufacturing a substance for the first time, managing chemicals safely at work, and residues on the food we eat. Are there also non-chemical alternatives that could be used?

Michael Berardozzi Importing and manufacturing pesticides
Team Leader, Hazardous Substances Applications, Environmental Protection Authority Te Mana Rauhī Taiao

Lee Bailey Legacy pesticides still in New Zealand
Senior Advisor, Hazardous Substances Reassessments, Environmental Protection Authority Te Mana Rauhī Taiao

Clark Ehlers Assessing the benefits and risks of releasing exotic organisms to manage invasive species in New Zealand
Senior Advisor, New Organisms, Environmental Protection Authority Te Mana Rauhī Taiao
 
Julian Jackson Cultural risk assessment tool for New Zealand
Senior Advisor, Kaupapa Kura Taiao, Te Mana Rauhī Taiao

The 2018 conference of the Society for Risk Analysis-Australia and New Zealand (SRA-ANZ) brings together multidisciplinary panels aimed at analysing risk from different perspectives, and invites professionals and scholars to engage in discussions on how to creatively and insightfully push the frontiers of risk research and risk management towards an increasingly complex future.

Learn more about the conference sessions and presenters here!
   
26th and 27th September  
ABS 1050 Abercrombie Building
Cnr Abercrombie and Codrington Streets
The University of Sydney Business School

REGISTER HERE

It's time to make plans to join SRA in New Orleans, LA, December 2-6, for the 2018 Annual Meeting.

Registration for the meeting is now open and we encourage you to register early to take advantage of early-bird pricing!

Interested in attending a full or half-day workshop on Sunday or Thursday? We have many workshops being offered for the first time this year, as well as favorites returning from years past.

Register before October 17 and use promo code SRA2018 to save 10% on workshop costs.

Interested in joining SRA's new mentorship program? The SRA Mentorship Program facilitates communication throughout the conference by linking those new to the field/profession with mid- and senior-level colleagues. Mentors advise emerging professionals (mentees) on getting the most value from the SRA Annual Meeting, introduce mentees to colleagues and discuss career goals. Mentees are encouraged to talk with mentors about challenges and opportunities in today's risk analysis landscape. Use the following links to enroll in the program: Mentors | Students/New Professionals.

As you make travel and lodging accommodations, we hope you are planning to join us through Wednesday afternoon to receive this year's event t-shirt. For your convenience, childcare services will be offered free of charge to meeting attendees on a first-come first-serve basis. Please use this form to enroll your child(ren).

For additional information, please see the 2018 Annual Meeting website.  

SRA invites the submission of abstracts for presentations at the Fifth World Congress on Risk to be held in Cape Town, South Africa, May 6-8, 2019. The Fifth World Congress on Risk will focus on ‘Development and Resilience’ and aims to stimulate dialogue and education on risk issues of world-wide interest.

SRA welcomes contributions on any topic related to risk assessment, risk characterization, risk perception, risk communication, risk management, risk governance, and policy relating to risk, in the context of risks of concern to individuals, to public and private sector organizations, and to society at a local, regional, national, or global level.

SRA-ANZ is looking for any further speakers who would like to submit an abstract to be added to our proposed symposium, ‘Risk Analysis in an Interconnected World’. For the submission code to submit an abstract as part of the SRA-ANZ symposium, please contact Hong Jin: Hong.Jin@foodstandards.gov.au

Wed, Aug 30, 2017 9:30 AM - 10:30 AM NZST
Wed, Aug 30, 2017 7:30 AM - 8:30 AM AEST

Scientific advances over the past decade are transforming our knowledge of the natural microbes of breast and bovine milks. Unexpected results from culture-independent studies of milk microbiomes are raising questions about assumptions of past risk analyses for breast milk banks, food safety regulators, and milk consumers around the world. In ‘milk wars’ around the world, the opposing positions are often stated as definitive beliefs for all time, not as evidence-based communications that merit further deliberation as science advances. Understandably, consumers around the world are confused by conflicting statements about benefits and risks in the media and from regulators.

Attendees will likely find surprises in the webinar, regarding the history of the ‘milk wars’ around the world, as well as assessments based on ‘top-down’ data and ‘bottom-up’ data. In the next phases of the joint RO project, frameworks for assessing and communicating benefits and risks using objective, unbiased evidence-based processes (e.g., evidence mapping, mental modeling) will be applied.

The webinar series is organized by partnering Regional Organizations (Australia, New England, New Zealand, and Upstate NY) of the Society for Risk Analysis (SRA) as the first of three phases of a project entitled Understanding Perceptions and Evidence of Benefits and Risks of Consuming Fresh Unprocessed (Certified Raw or Raw Drinking) Milk.

Presenters
Peg Coleman is a medical microbiologist and microbial risk assessor who contributed to human health risk assessments for bacteria causing anthrax, campylobacteriosis, E. coli O157:H7 enterocolitis, listeriosis, salmonellosis, and tularemia. Peg is a former regulator (USDA/FSIS) and currently sole proprietor of Coleman Scientific Consulting. 

D. Warner North, Ph.D., is principal scientist of NorthWorks and author of the first formal microbial risk assessment for NASA in 1974 on potential growth of microbes on Mars. Warner was a member of the committee authoring the 1996 National Academies report, ‘Understanding Risk: Informing Decisions in a Democratic Society.' Dr. North has a long association with Stanford University, having served as a professor or faculty member from 1976 to 2009. 

Annual Scientific Meeting & Continuing Education Day 
27 - 29 September 2017, Rydges Capital Hill, Canberra

ASM Program Now Available
With an impressive 22 presentations over the two day meeting, the 2017 Annual Scientific Meeting will feature speakers from around the world presenting on a range of topics addressing the theme Risk Assessment of New Technologies.

Presentation topics will include:

• Regulation of precision breeding technologies
• Ecological risk assessment of nanotechnology products
• Food derived using new technologies
• PFAS tissue distribution in sheep
• Sustainable food production systems
• Assessing the risks and benefits of using gene drives

 
Visit the Full Program

Early Bird and Group Discounts close 11 August
Register before 11 August and take advantage of the Early Bird discount for the 10th Annual Scientific Meeting and Continuing Education Workshop. Groups of five or more individuals from the same organisation are eligible to register via the group online booking form. Groups must be from the same organisation and will receive a $35 discount off each registration (minimum saving of $175).
 
Who should attend
- Toxicologists (government, academic and industry)
- Eco toxicologists
- Environmental Health Risk Assessors
- Consultants
- Environmental Managers
- Industrialists
- Chemical Regulators and policy makers in government agencies (state and federal)
- Research scientists, including postgraduate students
 
Register Now

Our world is more interconnected than ever before. From transport and technology, to trade and the environment, increasing interconnectedness presents significant challenges to government, industry and the individual. What emergent risks are we likely to face and how can we manage them?
 
The 10th Annual Conference of the Society for Risk Analysis Australia and New Zealand (SRA-ANZ) is calling for abstracts that delve into risk and interconnectedness from the perspective of academia, government and industry.
 
We are proud to announce that this year’s conference will be held in conjunction with the Australasian Bayesian Network Modeling Society.
 
We invite abstracts for oral presentations and posters on all aspects of risk, risk analysis and risk management including the following examples:

• How are risks affected by increasing interconnectedness, and what does this mean for risk analysis and management in the future?
• What innovative methodologies are available for the monitoring and surveillance of emerging risks, both locally and internationally?
• How do we think about risk in decision-making, given the interconnected nature of social, economic and environmental tradeoffs?
• How has the use of technology changed the collection and sharing of risk-related information, and where are there opportunities for further improvement?
• How does globalization influence risk?
• What role does government play in risk management in an interconnected world?
• What role does interconnectedness play in how we understand and deal with the risks presented by climate change?
• How do governments and industry manage the risks relating to info security and cyber attacks?
• What are the applications for Bayesian networks in a risk-related setting?

 
Deadline for abstract submissions is 30 June 2017.
 
To submit an abstract, visit:
http://www.sraanzconference.org.nz/
 
Sandra Seno-Alday
SRA-ANZ President

The Society for Risk Analysis (SRA) invites your abstracts for presentations at the 2017 SRA Annual Meeting in Arlington, Virginia, USA, December 10-14.
 
We welcome contributions on any topic related to risk assessment, risk characterization, risk perception, risk communication, risk management, risk governance, and policy relating to risk, in the context of risks of concern to individuals, to public and private sector organizations, and to society at a local, regional, national, or global level.

The theme of the conference “Risk Analysis – the Profession, the Practitioners, the Research” highlights the important role risk analysts have in tackling risk problems and improving the science and practice of risk analysis. 

Abstracts are due no later than May 31, 2017, midnight EST.
Click here for complete submission guidelines and to submit your abstract.

Continuing education workshops will be offered on Sunday, December 10 and Thursday, December 14 in either 4 or 8 hour sessions. This year we are encouraging proposals aimed at improving the foundations and/or practice of risk analysis. Click here for complete workshop submission guidelines and to submit your proposal. Continuing education workshop proposals are due no later than June 7, 2017. 

ABSTRACTS ARE NOW OPEN UNTIL FRIDAY 11 AUGUST 2017, 5pm GMT.
 
You are cordially invited to the 10th ILS Scientific Meeting on 27 Nov – 01 Dec 2017 in Palmerston North, New Zealand!
Details are on the website here. Abstracts can be submitted online from Monday 6 February to Friday 11 August 2017.
 
It would be a pleasure to host you in Palmerston North!
 
Cord Heuer
Chair of the Organisational Committee.