Pharmaceuticals Summit Set for Nov. 10-11
The Research Triangle Environmental Health Collaborative (RTEHC) will host 160 experts and stakeholders at "Pharmaceuticals in Water: What We Know, Don't Know and Should Do" on Nov. 10-11 at the North Carolina Biotechnology Center in North Carolina's Research Triangle Park.
"The Research Triangle region has become the epicenter for contemporary thinking about environmental health, and the Collaborative provides a neutral forum to host candid discussions and to provide advice on the most significant issues facing environmental health and related public policy," said Chair Ken Olden, former director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. "There are still many unknowns about pharmaceuticals in the water supply locally, as well as around the world, and we have many experts in our region focused on various solutions."
This first summit will explore the research needs and possible health consequences of contaminants in water from the use of pharmaceutical products; and identify innovative solution-oriented recommendations that emphasize research needs, policy changes, education, and prevention/intervention programs. and other public health solutions/actions.
Keynote speakers are Herb Buxton (U.S. Geological Survey) and Hal Zenick (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) providing scientific background, Ron Bloom (Food and Drug Administration) and Suzanne Rudzinski (EPA) discussing the regulatory landscape, and John Sumpter (University of Brunel Department of Biological Sciences) offering the European perspective.
RTEHC is a non-profit organization supporting a united environmental health resource that connects organizations and institutions; links research and policy; and joins government, academia, industry, and public interest groups to mutually consider, discuss, and debate the future of environmental health on a regional, national, and international level.