Environmental Monitoring of Marine Spills – The 2nd Premiam Conference
28 March 2014
4th June 2014, SOAS, London.
Spills of oils and chemicals in the marine environment remain a significant threat. Therefore, the requirement for response capability, improved preparedness and effective post-incident monitoring and assessment remains undiminished. PREMIAM is an initiative aimed at improving post-spill environmental monitoring practices through the application of sound science and effective management and coordination. Premiam is co-ordinated by emergency response and impact assessment experts from Cefas (Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science) and is now in its 5th year. It has wide support from all relevant UK government stakeholders and fully engages the scientific, emergency response and industry communities in delivering its aims.
The conduct of effective environmental monitoring in the event of marine spills of oil or chemicals is essential in order to understand environmental damage, the effectiveness of response and mitigation activities and the hazards to response workers and the general public.
The 1st Premiam conference (2012) explored the relevance and importance of an effective monitoring programme to a range of stakeholders. This 2nd conference will provide an opportunity for stakeholders to understand and debate the key issues around being ready to undertake prompt monitoring and the factors that need to be in place. How can we be better prepared? How can we ensure that the effort is well coordinated and managed? And how can we ensure the necessary funds and support are in place when they are needed?
The aim of the Premiam conference is to provide a forum for scientists, regulators, industry environment leads and other professionals working in the field of marine oil/chemical spill monitoring to share experience, best practice and knowledge to the wider marine emergency response community. This meeting will cover the importance of preparedness, coordination and identified funding/support to the effective conduct of marine environmental monitoring in an emergency context and will investigate the status of existing arrangements and aims to provide an essential forum for debate. Please join an excellent list of expert speakers from organisations including Defra, ITOPF, Oil and Gas UK, BP, OSRL, Marine Scotland, Maritime and Coastguard Agency, the conservation agencies and two international guest speakers, for what promises to be an excellent day.
The booking details are outlined in the full programme and can be accessed at http://cmscoms.com/?p=1326 . For any queries about the wider Premiam initiative or aims please contact Mark Kirby at mark.kirby@cefas.co.uk