Sustainable Development Goals Call for Curbing Toxic Chemicals
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The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) highlight the threat to community health from environmental and drinking water exposure to toxic synthetic chemicals. For example:
SDG 3.9 “reduce the number of deaths and illnesses from hazardous chemicals and air, water and soil pollution and contamination...”
SDG 6.3 “improve water quality by reducing pollution, eliminating dumping and minimizing release of hazardous chemicals and materials...”
SDG 12.4 “achieve the environmentally sound management of chemicals and all wastes throughout their life cycle...and significantly reduce their release to air, water and soil in order to minimize their adverse impacts on human health and the environment...”
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One of society’s Grand Challenges for the 21st Century will be discovering and implementing methods for reducing environmental and public health harms from exposure to toxic chemicals.
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Environmentally persistent synthetic chemicals - such as pesticides and industrial effluents - impact drinking water in communities around the world.
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This event will kickstart innovation to develop affordable and sustainable technologies to control toxic chemicals and supply safe water to small water systems in developing communities and rural areas of developed regions.
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The event will take place during the 2016 Water & Health Conference at UNC-Chapel Hill.
A short video message about this event from Dr. Linda Birnbaum, Director of the National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences and the National Toxicology Program.
Innovation Accelerator
Toxic Chemicals are the Blind Spot of current “Safe Water" Initiatives.
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While microbial pathogens are a prevalent and acute threat to drinking water safety, synthetic organic contaminants are overlooked in the global WASH development sector.
This October, Aqueous Solutions is hosting a bellwether event at the University of North Carolina Water & Health Conference.
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This special event is an Innovation Accelerator - an intense, dynamic session designed to:
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Raise the problem of persistent organic chemical contaminants to prominence in the global WASH sector
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Stimulate targeted innovation of affordable treatment technologies, along with evaluation of existing pathogen-reducing drinking water interventions for potential chemical removal
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Generate rapid evaluation and critical-constructive feedback from experts regarding technical merit and real-world applicability of proposed solutions
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Elicit commitment to support research, field testing, deployment, and scale-up from major WASH agencies
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Establish an interdisciplinary Working Group on Toxics in WASH to drive progressive awareness and innovation on this topic
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Who should attend?
Environmental toxicology and health experts, environmental engineers and scientists, water treatment specialists, researchers, and WASH practitioners working in the academic, government, non-profit, I/NGO, and private sectors.
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Need more details? Contact us
We are here to assist. Contact us by phone, email or via our social media channels.
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Web
aqsolutions.org
facebook.com/AqueousSolutions
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Conveners
Josh Kearns
(+1) 720 989 3959
josh [at] aqsolutions [dot] org
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Anne Mikelonis
(+1) 919 541 0579
mikelonis.anne [at] epa [dot] gov