FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | September 10, 2014

ACS Capitol Hill briefing — ‘Water-Based Hazards: Risk Mitigation’

WASHINGTON, Sept. 10, 2014 — The American Chemical Society (ACS) Science & the Congress Project invites news media to attend a luncheon briefing on “Water-Based Hazards: Risk Mitigation.” It will be held Friday, Sept. 12, from noon to 1:30 p.m. Rayburn House Office Building 2325. Please RSVP to http://bit.ly/VHZpVC.

The briefing is sponsored by the ACS Science & the Congress Project and by the Society for Risk Analysis.

Water is a vital resource. But water can also be a force of nature causing serious calamities or worsening accidents when they need to be contained. The recent Elk River, W.V., chemical spill and the mudslide east of Oso, Washington, have sparked debate about whether prevention or mitigation is the better policy to pursue. How do the experiences of the immediate emergency response and the post-event assessment teams inform reconstruction policy in a given watershed? How can risk profiles for potential events aid policy makers in preparing for and avoiding costly water-based disasters? How should municipalities plan to provide clean drinking water should an accident occur that impacts water supplies? This panel will present information on recent approaches to river and coastal flooding, waterway spills and landslides. The briefing will feature the following panelists and an open discussion:

Moderator: Laura Pence, Ph.D., University of Hartford

Panelists: 

  • Laurence “Larry” R. Becker, Vermont Geological Survey
  • Carlos A. Duart, CDR Maguire
  • Paul A. Locke, DrPH., Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
  • Adam Parris, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

The Science & the Congress Project was established in 1995 to provide a neutral and credible source of scientific information targeted to policymakers on Capitol Hill. Expert speakers are chosen to provide a balanced presentation about the topic under discussion, and their comments are independent of any position that may be held by the ACS, the sponsors of ACS Science & the Congress, or its co-hosts. For more information, visit the Science & the Congress website.

The American Chemical Society is a nonprofit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress. With more than 161,000 members, ACS is the world’s largest scientific society and a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related research through its multiple databases, peer-reviewed journals and scientific conferences. Its main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.

To automatically receive press releases from the American Chemical Society, contact newsroom@acs.org.

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