The 43rd Annual Conference on Bioassay, Analytical and Environmental Radiochemistry will take place in the heart of the historic district of Charleston, SC at the Francis Marion Hotel. The annual conference is a vehicle for chemists, physicists, and dosimetrists to gain insight, share experience, and develop solutions to problems in a very informal setting. The sponsors for the 43rd annual conference will be Environmental Physics, Inc., Westinghouse Savannah River Company, Florida State University, Eichrom Industries, and The College of Charleston.

The Conference Committee this year has made a concerted effort to plan the programs as far ahead as possible to enhance the coordination and overall quality of the meeting. We would like to solicit your help to accomplish this goal by sending in your registration form (page 7 of this announcement) and abstracts as soon as possible. The deadline for abstracts is August 31^st – please send them on time!

HOTEL

Recently renovated, the Francis Marion is one of Charleston’s most elegant hotels. Listed in the National Register of Historic Places, the Francis Marion has provided a magnificent setting for special occasions and important meetings for over 70 years. Located in the heart of the historic district, the Francis Marion Hotel is within easy walking distance of Charleston’s wonderful restaurants, galleries, King Street shopping, and many historic attractions.

The hotel has reserved a block of rooms for conference attendees at $92.00 plus tax. This rate will be good from November 6 through November 16. The block of rooms will be held only through October 8, 1997, and reservations must be made by this date (Tel: 803-722-0600). For those requiring government per diem rates, a limited number of rooms have been reserved at a hotel outside of the downtown area that is accessible to the Francis Marion by public transportation.

AUDIO/VISUAL EQUIPMENT

We will have an overhead projector, a 35-mm slide projector and flip charts available as well as a video player for the presentations during the technical sessions. Following the precedence set in previous years, we will not provide equipment for computerized slide presentations. If you have special needs or requirements other than those mentioned above, please contact Nancy Slater at Environmental Physics, Inc. (803-556-8171).

TRAVEL

Charleston is served by several major airlines including Delta, U.S. Air, Continental, Midway, Air South, and United Express. All major rental car agencies are located in the airport in Charleston. The Low Country Limo (Tel: 1-800-222-4771) provides transportation to downtown Charleston for approx. $15. The official travel agent for this conference will be Abbott & Hill, Inc. (Tel: 1-800-535-0956). Delta Airlines will be the official carrier for the conference and is offering a conference discount which can be obtained through Abbott & Hill.

REGISTRATION

In order to encourage early registration, we are offering a special rate for pre- registering prior to October 8, 1997. We urge you to pre-register as early as possible.
 

As before, the main technical sessions will be held Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Vendors will exhibit their materials on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. On Sunday evening, an informal reception sponsored by Canberra, Eichrom, and Environmental Physics, Inc.will be held at Environmental Physics. Other special events include a vendor reception sponsored by Eichrom Industries, Inc. on Monday evening at the Francis Marion Hotel, and a luncheon sponsored by Canberra and Packard on Tuesday. There will be a low-country dinner and beach party on Wednesday evening at a beach house on Sullivan’s Island. A Fun Run/Walk through historic Charleston is scheduled for Wednesday morning before the sessions.

 TECHNICAL PROGRAM

This year’s conference will consist of a series of thematic workshops on Sunday and Monday with individual presentations in a general plenary session at the regular conference Tuesday through Thursday. We are happy to receive abstracts from all radiation professionals interested in discussing the various issues involved in new techniques available for assessment of environmental radioactivity, bioassay, and related topics. The abstract deadline (August 31, 1997) is almost here so we encourage you to submit as soon as possible (see directions below for abstract submission).

The first plenary session on Tuesday, November 11th will begin with a short welcoming address by the Mayor of Charleston, Joseph P. Riley. This will be followed by the conference keynote address entitled "Human Tissue Studies: The Ultimate Bioassay?" by Dr. Ron Kathren, Professor of Health Physics, Washington State University, and Director of the U.S. Transuranium Registry. Prof. Kathren has had a long and distinguished history in the field of Health Physics and should present information of great interest to conference participants. The regular technical presentations will begin immediately thereafter.

Please direct any questions concerning the technical program to: Bill Burnett, Environmental Radioactivity Measurement Facility, Department of Oceanography, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306-3048; Tel: 904-644-6703; Fax: 904-644-2581; email: burnett@ocean.fsu.edu.

ABSTRACTS

Final abstracts (those to appear in the conference binder) must be submitted on hard copy in camera-ready form no later than August 31, 1997. Authors are encouraged to submit either extended abstracts (up to five pages inclusive of figures, tables, and references) or more traditional 1-page abstracts. The format is optional but we suggest: (1) all abstracts be submitted in camera-ready form without page numbers; (2) the name of the author who will be making the presentation should be underlined; (3) abstracts may be either single or double-spaced using a 12-point font; and (4) provide at least a 1" margin on all sides of standard 81/2" x 11" paper. An acknowledgment letter will be sent to all presenters in early September. A copy of the preliminary program will be mailed to all registrants in early October. The final program, together with a conference binder with copies of all the abstracts, will be prepared for distribution at the meeting.

Send all abstracts to: Ms. Nancy Slater, Environmental Physics, Inc., 2040 Savage Road, Charleston, SC 29407; Fax: 803-766-1178; email: nancy.slater@gel.com
 

VENDOR EXHIBITS

A vendor exhibition will be held from Monday evening through Wednesday afternoon on the mezzanine level of the Francis Marion Hotel. Potential vendors should contact Mr. Mike Fern of Eichrom Industries, Inc. (630-963-0320), who is acting as the vendor liaison for the meeting.

MEETING SCHEDULE
 

* There will be a golf outing for the conference attendees, vendors, and guests at the Charleston National Country Club on the morning of November 9th. Tee times begin at 7:15 A.M., and there is room for 40 golfers. Green fees and carts will be $34.00 per person and this charge is NOT included in the price of the conference. Participants must pay at the clubhouse. More information will follow in the final announcement. Interested individuals should contact Brian Crandall by October 15th, 1997. Phone: (803) 725-3413 E-mail: brian.crandall@srs.gov

 
TENTATIVE WORKSHOP SCHEDULE

The technical workshops are being held on the Sunday and Monday preceding the start of the Bioassay Conference on Tuesday. The workshops are designed to provide in-depth presentations and group discussions of radiochemistry issues and technologies in an informal setting.

The tentative schedule for regular technical workshops is presented in the table below.

CONFERENCE CONTACTS
 
 

For additional information please see the Bioassay Home Page that has been designed and maintained by Donivan Porterfield at Los Alamos National Laboratory (Email: dporterfield@lanl.gov). The internet address is:

Bayesian Statistical Methods Workshop (sponsored by U.S. DOE)

Join us for a special 2-day training session and workshop (free of charge) on "Bayesian Statistical Methods for Bioassay, Radiochemistry, and Internal Dosimetry." The workshop will be held in conjunction with the Bioassay Conference. The workshop will be held all day Thursday (Nov. 13) and until 3:00 p.m. on Friday (Nov. 14). This workshop/training session is being organized for the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) Office of Worker Protection and Hazards Management by Daniel J. Strom of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. The workshop is aimed at a Master's level person performing or using radiobioassay and radiochemistry measurements, and will feature a full day, detailed introduction to Bayesian and classical statistical methodologies by Professor Donald A. Berry of Duke University. Application of these methods to radioactivity measurements and internal dosimetry will be presented by experts from Los Alamos National Laboratory, as well as a panel discussion session on regulatory acceptability and other issues. Interfaces with the DOE Laboratory Accreditation Program (DOELAP) and ANSI/HPS N13.30 will be discussed. All interested personnel should contact Dan Strom as soon as possible at (509) 375-2626 or dj_strom@pnl.gov for additional information. Participants will receive a FREE copy of Don Berry’s book on Bayesian Statistics. We need a head count so that we can purchase books and supplies.