Braving adverse travel conditions after September 11, 2001, close to 500 experts from over 40 countries gathered in Venice, Italy, from October 10-12, 2001, for the First International Conference on the Remediation of Contaminated Sediments, which was organized by the Battelle Geneva Research Center in collaboration with the Venetian environmental services agency (AMAV). There were surprisingly few cancellations. The most represented countries were the USA (32 percent of registrants), Italy (28 percent), United Kingdom, The Netherlands, Belgium, Norway, Sweden, Germany, France, Canada, and Japan.

Co-sponsorship by the Italian environmental protection agency, ANPA, and the Center for Contaminated Sediments of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, as well as the participation of numerous experts from Battelle’s U.S. laboratories, created a stimulating environment in which scientists from all over the world could exchange information on remediation technologies.

Venice, which faces serious issues related to the conference topic, offered an appropriate setting. During plenary sessions on the first day, leading international experts summarized past experience in Venice, while local, regional, and national officials assessed current problems confronting the city and its region and how to best prioritize future remedial actions.

During the following two days, 100 platform presentations and 120 poster sessions described state-of-the-art techniques of in situ treatment, beneficial reuse, characterization, ecological and human health risk assessment, dredging, natural recovery, and special sediment topics such as PCB, dioxin, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon content.

The primary conference sponsor, the Venetian AMAV, and the co-sponsor, ANPA, exchanged information with sediment remediation authorities and organizations from around the globe. They discussed recent technological advances in the field and considered their applicability to problems in and around the Venetian lagoon. International experts gained first-hand understanding of these complex issues from the civic agencies and scientists who have studied them most closely. This important dialogue will stimulate proposals for rapid, effective solutions to current sediment problems and lead to more practical and economic approaches to sustainable results in fresh water, brackish water, and salt water environments.

The sessions—well attended throughout the conference—were highlighted by discussions that clarified and expanded on the presentation topics. Some sessions were co-chaired by university doctoral candidates—to stimulate their interest in the transfer of research to remediation practice and to help them expand their contacts within the scientific world.

Battelle was so encouraged by the response to this conference that it will organize future conferences on a biennial basis. The proceedings should be available by February 2001 through Battelle Press (press@battelle.org), Columbus, Ohio.

For more information contact Marco Pellei at 41-22-8272110, pelleim@battelle.org.