Special Symposium

1. Rare earth elements in the environment

Proposed by Sophie Cornu ( Sophie.Cornu@orleans.inra.fr , INRA Orléans, France)

2. Trace element issues in intensive peri-urban farming systems - concepts, case studies and risk assessment

Proposed by Prof. Dr. Ingrid Oborn ( Ingrid.Oborn@mv.slu.se , Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Sweden) and Prof. Biao Huang (bhuang@issas.ac.cn , Institute of Soil Science, CAS, China)

3. Plant-based technologies to remediate contaminated soils and sediments: processes, bioavailability, sustainability, consequences for ecosystems and human health

Proposed by Prof. Dr. Nicholas L epp ( N.W.Lepp@livjm.ac.uk , Liverpool , UK ), Dr. Michel M ench ( mench@bordeaux.inra.fr , France ) and Prof. Jaco V angronsveld ( jaco.vangronsveld@uhasselt.be , Belgium )

4. Development and uses of biofortified agricultural products

Proposed by Gary Banuelos ( gbanuelos@fresno.ars.usda.gov , USDA-ARS), Emmanuel Frossard ( emmanuel.frossard@ipw.agrl.ethz.ch , Swiss Federal Institute of Technology) and Zhi-Qing Lin ( zhlin@siue.edu , Southern Illinois University at Edwards, USA)

5. Synchrotron applications in trace element analysis

Proposed by Enzo Lombi ( enzo.lombi@csiro.au , CSIRO, Australia), Kirk Scheckel ( Scheckel.Kirk@epamail.epa.gov , US EPA) and Andrew Gault (andrew.gault@manchester.ac.uk , UK)

6. New physical techniques to study trace elements in the environment

Proposed by Géraldine Sarret ( gsarret@ujf-grenoble.fr , University of Grenoble and CNRS , France), Prof. Rainer Schulin ( schulin@env.ethz.ch , Institute of Terrestrial Ecology , ETHZ , Switzerland), and Sascha Oswald ( sascha.oswald@ufz.de , Center for Environmental Research, Leipzig, Germany)

7. Coal and coal combustion byproducts

Proposed by K. S. Sajwan ( sajwank@savstate.edu , Savannah State University, USA), Irena Twardowska (Polish Academy of Sciences, Poland) and Ashok K. Alva (USDA-ARS, USA)

8. Fate and transport of radionuclides in the environment

Proposed by Prof George Shaw ( george.shaw@nottingham.ac.uk , University of Nottingham, UK), Dr Max Hu ( hu7@llnl.gov , Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory , USA ), Prof T H Chon ( chon@snu.ac.kr , Seoul National University , South Korea) and Dr Vandenhove Hildegarde ( hvandenh@sckcen.be , Belgium )

9. Presence of natural and anthropogenic mercury in the environment: actions towards ecosystem health

Proposed by Prof Xinbin Feng ( fengxinbin@vip.skleg.cn , Guiyang Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China ) and Prof Marc Lucotte ( lucotte.marc_michel@uqam.ca , Université du Québec à Montréal, Canada)

Topics for technical sessions include:

1  Trace elements interactions with microbes;

2  Toxicology and risk assessment;

3  Trace elements in the rhizosphere;

4  Plant molecular physiology related to trace elements in plant;

5  Speciation and bioavailability of trace elements in aquatic systems;

6  Arsenic and environment;

7  Risk-based remediation of metal contaminated soil and sediments: methods and endpoints

8  Ecological restoration of metal-contaminated soils using amendments: methods and technical performance measures.

9. Biogeochemical Cycles of Trace Elements in Serpentine Environments