CONFERENCE ANNOUNCEMENT #2

CONFERENCE ANNOUNCEMENT #2

 ORGANIZER’S FOREWORD

Hosting this international conference is one of the opportunities for VNU-CRES to engage and explore various global perspectives, build collaborative relationship and expand its cooperation in research, training, information and academic exchange. It also promotes and builds capacities for our staff in occupational and environmental health with other research institutions and organizations in the region and throughout the world. It is very important and valuable that our staff members could learn from the professional experiences of other institutions that are highly recognized in the field of occupational safety and environment.

Our conference’s theme for this year is “Health hazards of chronic occupational exposures to hazardous compounds from construction and manufacturing sectors”.

We welcome EOHS professionals and organizations to join and share your thoughts as well as promote this field in Vietnam. We look forward to hearing from you and thank you very much in advance for your kind consideration and support.

Background: 

 Over the past few decades, there has been a decline in cancers attributable to environmental and occupational carcinogens of asbestos, arsenic, and indoor and outdoor air pollutants in high-income countries. For developing countries, however, these exposures are likely to increase as industrialization expands and populations grow ^[1].

Among the industry sectors, workers may be significantly exposed to various known or suspected carcinogenic compounds from construction and manufacturing materials such as: persistent organic pollutants (POPs) including flame retardants, crystalline silica, asbestos, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), BTEX compounds (Benzene, Toluene, Ethylbenzene, and Xylene), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), bitumen fume, coal tar, and heavy metals^[2]. This may cause adverse affects to the worker’s health, especially carcinogenic risk during long term exposure at workplace. Therefore, strategies for mitigating and controlling occupational exposure to these chemical carcinogens are urgently needed.

Also, this proposed conference will comprehensively investigate the potential environmental and occupational health hazards of chronic exposures to carcinogenic compounds from construction and manufacturing materials and effective methods to mitigate and control their harmful risks. This international conference provides a valuable opportunity for local and foreign scientists to exchange knowledge and experiences on  studies on occupational and environmental health, and intervention measures toward worker health protection and promotion. In addition, it is an occasion for summing up the activities of occupational and environmental health as well as assessing the needs for capacity building and continuous training to improve occupational hygienists or engineers with a comprehensive knowledge in environmental sustainability, pollution control, occupational health and safety, and waste disposal and transportation for a developing economy.

^[1] Hashim D, Boffetta P. Occupational and environmental exposures and cancers in developing countries. Ann Glob Health. 2014 Sep-Oct;80(5):393-411. doi: 10.1016/j.aogh.2014.10.002. PMID: 25512155.

^[2] Hosseini B, Hall AL, Zendehdel K, Kromhout H, Onyije FM, Moradzadeh R, Zamanian M, Schüz J, Olsson A. Occupational Exposure to Carcinogens and Occupational Epidemiological Cancer Studies in Iran: A Review. Cancers (Basel). 2021 Jul 16;13(14):3581. doi: 10.3390/cancers13143581. PMID: 34298794; PMCID: PMC8305339.

 Conference objectives:

• To share research results on occupational and environmental health hazards of chronic exposures to carcinogenic compounds from construction and manufacturing sectors.
• To search for feasible and effective sollutions/intervention methods to address the adverse occupational and environmental health risks derived from construction and manufacturing sectors in developing countries.
• To assess the needs for capacity building and continuous training to improve occupational hygienists or engineers with a comprehensive knowledge base in environmental sustainability, pollution control, occupational health and safety, and waste disposal and transportation for a developing economy.
• To promote potential collaborations among the institutions through various academic exchange activities in the field of occupational health and safety.

Benefits for Conference Participants/Attendees:

• Information on studies and intervention measures on occupational & environmental health hazards of chronic exposure to carcinogenic compounds from construction and manufacturing sectors at national, regional and international levels will be updated and exchanged.
• The effective orientations and strategies on dealing with occupational & environmental health problems of chronic exposure to carcinogenic compounds from construction and manufacturing materials will be developed.
• The awareness of participants, different stakeholders and social organizations of occupational and environmental health problems will be improved.
• The collaborations between VNU-CRES and research institutions, universities and organizations at local and international levels will be explored and developed.

Conference date: October 24 – 26, 2024

Venue: 19 Le Thanh Tong street, Hoan Kiem district, Hanoi, Vietnam

 Conference format and main languages:

• Online and onsite (in-person)
• English

Conference deliverables:

• Conference brochures and program (English);
• Abstract e-books (English) and USB sticks;
• Printed conference proceeding books – ISBN (English)

Conference organizing committee:

• Chair: Assoc.Prof. Dr. Luu The Anh, Vietnam National University – Central Institute for Natural Resources and Environmental Studies (VNU-CRES)
• Co-chairs:

+ Prof. Dr. Nguyen Manh Khai (Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Hanoi University of Science, Vietnam National University, FES-HUS-VNU)

+ Tuan N. Nguyen, Workplace Health Without Borders – US Branch (WHWB-US)

+ Alec Farquhar, Workplace Health Without Borders – Canada Branch

+ Kevin Hedges, Workplace Health Without Borders – Canada Branch

• Conference Secretariat: Ngo Thi Thu Hien, Thang Long University (TLU)
• Committee Members:

+ Assoc. Prof. Bui Ngoc Quy – VNU-CRES

+ Dr. Le Van Hue – VNU-CRES

+ Dr. Vu Van Tam – VNU-CRES

+ MSc. Pham Viet Hung – VNU-CRES

+ MSc. Bui Ha Ly – VNU-CRES

+ MSc. Le Trong Toan – VNU-CRES

+ BA. Nguyen Khanh Tung Thu – VNU-CRES

+ Dr. Tran Thien Cuong, FES-HUS-VNU

+ Dr. Tran Thi Minh Hang, FES-HUS-VNU

+ Dr. Le Thai Ha, Vietnam Health Management Agency (VIHEMA)

+ Dr. Le Thanh Hai, National Institute of Occupational and Environmental Health (NIOEH)

+ Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Van Son, National Institute of Occupational and Environmental Health (NIOEH)

+ Dr. Nguyen Anh Tho, Vietnam National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (VNNIOSH)

+ Dr. Nguyen Van Thu, Trade Union University (TUU)

+ Prof. Dr. Luu Ngoc Hoat, Phenikaa University (PU)

+ Assoc. Prof. Doan Ngoc Hai, Hanoi University of Public Health (HUPH)

+ Dr. Albert Tien, WHWB-US

+ Dr. Mary O’Reilly, WHWB-US

+ Dr. Jenifer Galvin, WHWB International

+ Dr. Rachael Jones, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)

+ Dr. Lydia Richards, WHWB Austrualia

+ Dr. Vinod Gopaldasani, University of Wollongong, Australia

 Important dates:

• Sponsorship pledge starts on June 1, 2024
• Vendor/Exhibitor signup starts on July 1, 2024
• First call for abstract submission: July 1, 2024
• Deadline for abstracts: August 10, 2024
• Feedback on abstract proposals: August 15, 2024
• Deadline for paper submission to be included in conference proceedings – ISBN: August 25, 2024
• Notification of abstract acceptance: Sept 1, 2024
• Revision deadline for conditionally accepted papers: Sept 15, 2024
• Final notification for conditionally accepted papers: Sept 30, 2024

TENTATIVE CONFERENCE PROGRAM

Note: The schedule and time allocation might be changed. The times mentioned are based on the local time zone (Hanoi, GMT+7)

CONFERENCE SPONSORS/ EXHIBITIONS/VENDORS INFORMATION

 Sponsorship information:

CONFERENCE EXHIBITORS/VENDORS

• Preliminary Exhibition Booth Reservation information

Booth Pricing – 3 meters ×3 meters booth — 500 USD — First come first serve basis.

Contact person: Assoc.Prof. Bui Ngoc Quy, Vietnam National University – Central Institute for Natural Resources and Environmental Studies (VNU-CRES); Email: conference.oshe@cres.edu.vn

REGISTRATION FEES

• Student/Master/PhD student: free
• Vietnamese professional participants: 20 USD
• Foreign professional participants: 50 USD
• Field trip (optional): 20 USD
• Sightseeing (optional): 50 USD
• Welcome dinner (optional): 20 USD

REGISTRATION FORM