On the afternoon of Thursday 14 November 2019, the EAF conference will host ‘round table’ workshops in which participants will meet many speakers face to face and freely discuss in-depth on a wide variety of asbestos related topics. This has proven to be the ideal formula for meeting relevant specialists, exchanging knowledge and building up lasting networks. These round table ‘rounds’ will be interspersed with the following short presentations.
To begin, the award winning asbestos film ‘Breathless’ will be shown, with an introduction by Maarten Schmidt (Storyhouse), the director. Huig Bergsma (Asbetter Acids) will give a short presentation on why denaturation of asbestos is needed and how it can be safely achieved. Jody Schinkel of Dutch scientific bastion TNO will present on a recent TNO report advocating a differentiation of asbestos risk classes and raise concern for both the over- and underawareness of asbestos risks. Last but not least, David de Vreede (St. ECAV) will explain the recent developments on the Dutch asbestos roof ban; and why he believes such a ban is still necessary. All presentations are unique and very relevant!
The workshops (including presentations) will take place from 13:00 to 17:00 hours.
On Friday 15 November 2019, the EAF Conference will take place, concluded by an optional conference dinner. Please note that speakers and presentations may be subject to change. See below for further details.
| 08.30 – 09.00 | Registration and light continental breakfast |
| 09.00 – 09.15 | Welcome by Yvonne Waterman (President of the EAF Foundation) Introduction of the Session Chairmen: Nick Garland (Assure360) and Jasper Kosters (Admanstars) |
| Plenary Session | |
|---|---|
| 09.15 – 10.00 | Opening Speech: the truth about asbestos diseases, by prof. Arthur Frank (Drexel University) |
| 10.00 – 10.30 | What is asbestos?, by Sean Fitzgerald (Scientific Analytical Institute) |
| 10.30 – 11.00 | Generating asbestos awareness through the media: Breathless, by Maarten Schmidt (Storyhouse) |
| 11.00 – 11.20 | Break and refreshments |
| 11.20 – 12.00 | Keynote Speech: the impact of asbestos on society, by prof. Jukka Takala (President of the International Commission on Occupational Health) |
| 12.00 – 12.45 | Buffet lunch |
| Photo exhibition by Tony Rich (Asbestorama) |
| Session A | Asbestos and its impact on society. Session Chairman: Nick Garland |
|---|---|
| 12.45 – 13.05 | The No Time To Lose asbestos awareness campaign, by Simon Butt-Bethlendy (IOSH) |
| 13.05 – 13.25 | Asbestos in a biological environment, by Henk Koerten (Koerten Advies) |
| 13.25 – 13.45 | Making asbestos awareness accessible, by Udo Waltman (SGS Search) |
| 13.45 – 14.05 | Trump, Putin and Today’s Asbestos Industry, by Charles Pickles (Charles Pickles Associates) |
| 14.05 – 14.20 | Break and refreshments |
| 14.20 – 14.40 | A new testing method for asbestos in talc, by Sean Fitzgerald (Scientific Analytical Institute) and David de Vreede (St. ECAV) |
| 14.40 – 15.00 | Pursuing justice in contaminated talc cases, by Brendan J. Tully (Phillips & Paolicelli LLP) |
| 15.00 – 15.20 | Making Flanders (Belgium) asbestos safe, by Sven de Mulder (OVAM) |
| 15.20 – 15.40 | The first museum for asbestos awareness: collecting evidence of murderous socio-political strategy, by Mark Wit (International Asbestos Awareness Foundation) |
| 15.40 – 16.20 | Panel debate |
| 16:20 – 16.35 | Break and refreshments |
| Session B | Asbestos & Professional perspectives. Session Chairman: Jasper Kosters |
|---|---|
| 12.45 – 13.05 | Multistep destruction of asbestos cement using waste acids, by Huig Bergsma (Asbetter Acids) |
| 13.05 – 13.25 | Denaturing asbestos – the challenges of innovation, by Graham Gould (Thermal Recycling Ltd.) |
| 13.25 – 13.45 | Artificial Intelligence for automated fiber counting in air samples, by Nicholas Le Mintier (xRapid Group) |
| 13.45 – 14.05 | Why the lack of an evidence-based approach leads to riskier remediation, by Gerrie van Beljouw (Belas Asbestverwijdering Uden BV and VVTB) |
| 14.05 – 14.20 | Break and refreshments |
| 14.20 – 14.40 | How to promote innovation in the field of toxic building materials, by Simon Schneebeli (Bilbau) |
| 14.40 – 15.00 | The evolution of the revolution: improving asbestos remediation, by Lloyd Ludlow (Soteria) |
| 15.00 – 15.20 | The supertech way to prevent asbestos dumping, by Phil Cleary (SmartWater Technology Ltd.) |
| 15.20 – 15.40 | Increasing the compliance of air monitoring equipment in the asbestos industry, by Will Patrick (FermionX Ltd.) |
| 15.40 – 16.20 | Panel debate |
| 16:20 – 16.35 | Break and refreshments |
| Plenary session | |
|---|---|
| 16.35 – 16.40 | Special Recognition Award |
| 16.40 – 16.45 | Concluding speech, Yvonne Waterman |
| 16.45 – 17.00 | Group photo of speakers |
| 18.00 – 21.00 | Convivial closing drinks for networking |
| 18.00 – 21.00 | Optionally: Conference Dinner |