The Monaco symposium on Marine Pollution is the third purely scientific symposium sponsored by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in
Monaco. The first in this series was sponsored in 1959 by reigning H.S.H. Prince Rainier III of Monaco. The last time such a distinguished group of scientists met in this forum was over 25 years ago. Suffice it to
say, a conference that meets once every 25 years is going to have a lot of good scientists wanting to participate.
Findings from the 1959 symposium forced significant changes upon the world's nations including pressure to halt
open water disposal of nuclear waste. The second symposium provided additional answers to problems of radioactivity and the marine environment. We can reasonably expect this year's should be the type of symposium that
sets standards in marine pollution for the new millennium. For obvious reasons it is a major part of the Year of the Ocean celebration.
Expectations are high also because of additional incentives in this years'
symposium. Unlike the previous two conferences involving nuclear pollution issues, additional research on marine pollution and problems are included. The United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP), the
Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO and the International Maritime Organization (IMO) are new co-sponsors. Because of their sponsorship, research on contemporary topics of vital concern to the marine
environment will also be presented.
Science not Politics
In recent years a lot of politicians made themselves known at huge environmental summits in Rio and Kyoto. Do not expect such hoopla and political soap
boxes in Monaco. These are scientists not TV stars. Some of the material presented will be highly technical and perhaps dry. But you can bet that every good scientists interested in marine research will be looking
for their copy of these proceedings.
Although politicians may be absent, significant events of today are the subject of many of the researchers. For instance, the recent resurgence in nuclear testing may be affected by
numerous papers on French Polynesia. Since France conducted their series of six bomb tests in 1995 and 1996, the IAEA has been studying their effects. These include:
- Marine radioactivity assessment of the Mururoa and Fangataufa Atolls
- Long-lived radionuclides in the Marshall Islands
- Sessions on modeling radioactivity, comparisons of recent bomb sites against untouched atolls and natural transportation of radionuclides from bomb sites into the Marine Environment, to name just a few.
Marine Pollution
Throughout the five days over 300 papers on pollution problems in the marine environment will be presented or reviewed including studies on :
- Contamination from radioactive and non-radioactive dumping at sea
- Ocean circulation patterns and their role in pollution transport
- Land based contributions to marine pollution
- Advances in monitoring and tracing marine pollution
- Geographic areas under severe marine environmental stress including - The Black Sea, The Mediterranean Sea, The NE Atlantic and other industrially impacted marine zones
- History of pollution control studies
- Heavy metal pollution in tropical waters
- PCB levels in marine species throughout the world
- Assuring quality in marine pollution labs and research
- Remote sensing of radionuclides
- Using isotopic techniques to monitor and trace pollution events and dispersion into the marine environment including bioaccumulation
- Radioactive contamination in remote extreme environments such as the Arctic
Environmental Concerns for Shippers
The shipping industry should be taking a particularly close look at Monaco as well. Presentations that may affect future IMO decisions include:
- Evaluating hazards carried by Ships
- Responses to major oil spills and integration of technology into spill decision making
- Invasive species in ballast water
- Effects of TBT tin based boat bottom paint and its dispersion into the marine environment
Keynote Speakers/Plenary Sessions
Note: There are 300 papers from 70 countries accepted at this symposium. Below we list some of the presentations given. For more information on these papers, please
contact us:
