Sixth International Symposium on Flame Retardants (BFR2013)

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This proposal requests partial support for the Sixth International Symposium on Flame Retardants (BFR2013) to be held April 7-10, 2013 in San Francisco, California. This meeting will highlight one major class of contaminants, flame retardants, which are found, and will increasingly be found at hazardous waste sites. The focus of this symposium is to discuss a multitude of aspects regarding flame retardants, including sessions about sources, control and regulation, exposure, toxicology, environment, indoor pollution, and alternatives. Many of these sessions are responsive to the stated themes expressed in the NIEHS 2012-2016 Strategic Plan. The health relatedness of this conference is that the most commonly used flame retardants, polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), have become ubiquitous in the environment and in humans in spite of efforts to limit their use in home furnishings and consumer products. Concerns about replacement flame retardants have prompted both scientists and regulators to seek more information on these new and diverse classes of chemicals. Presentations will explore the complexity of these issues and potentially bring awareness to new avenues of research. The broad and long-term goals of the conference are to increase our understanding about current and replacement flame retardant chemicals. The specific aims of this meeting will be to convene speakers from around the world that represent critical areas of flame retardant science and policy with a total of 250 participants fora 2.5 day symposium. The program will commence Sunday evening with a Welcoming Reception to provide the participants with an opportunity to meet before the actual meeting starts. Seven oral presentation sessions will address the latest findings in flame retardant science and policy. Two poster sessions will permit all participants to contribute to these topics. All of the sessions will be held concurrently. The posters will be on display all day with time at breaks for viewing and dedicated sessions for interacting with the authors. The significance of this application is that the BFR Symposia have become the premier forum for members of the international academic community, government officials and private industry to discuss the latest scientific and regulatory developments regarding flame retardant chemicals. Conference funding in the amount of $14,900 is being sought to 1) provide travel and conference registration fee support of participants to attend BFR2013 and 2) support a portion of the equipment rental fees.