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2nd International Conference on Risk Assessment, 26-28 January 2011, Brussels, Belgium

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Programme

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DAY 0 – 25 JANUARY 2011 - PRE-CONFERENCE EVENT

DAY 0 – 25 JANUARY 2011 - CONFERENCE
17.00 - 18.30Coordination meeting of all chairs, invited speakers, rapporteurs and panellists for the final arrangements and exchanges on the themes
and intended results of the Conference
19.30 - 21.30Dinner

DAY 1 – 26 JANUARY 2011
08.15 - 09.00Registration and Coffee
Introductory Session

09.00 - 09.15Welcome and key-note speech
Paola TESTORI COGGI
Director General for Health and Consumers, European Commission (confirmed)
09.15 - 09.45Current US Approach to Regulatory Review and Risk Analysis
Dr. Michael FITZPATRICK
Associate Administrator, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, US Office of Management and Budget (confirmed)
09.45 - 10.15Risk Governance in the European Union: The role of Science, technology and civil society
Dr. Charles KLEIBER
Former State Secretary for Education and Research, Swiss Federal Department of Home Affairs, Switzerland and Chairman of the Board of the International Risk Governance Council (IRGC).
10.15 - 10.30Background and objectives of the Conference
Co-Chairs of the Conference Steering Committee (EC, USA OMB and CANADA TBS)
Plenary Session 1: The future of risk analysis: meeting the challenges
Chairperson: Mr.Hans H. YU, Health Canada, Director Science and Policy Directorate

Background, Objectives:
The objective of this session is to set the scene by providing a broad perspective of current risk governance problems and the need and directions for responding to the current challenges to risk analysis and , more specifically, in the risk assessment area.

10.30 - 10.40Introduction on Globally relevant Risks and the Role of Science
10.40 - 11.00Risk Governance: Towards an Integrative Approach
Prof. Ortwin RENN
Professor of Environmental Sociology and Technology Assessment, University of Stuttgart, International Risk Governance Council (confirmed)
11.00 - 11.20Improving the Utility of Risk Assessment
Prof. George GRAY
George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services, Department of Environmental and Occupational Health and Director of the Centre for Risk Science and Public Health. (confirmed)
11.20 - 11.40Coffee break
11.40 - 12.00Risk Assessment – Some considerations and challenges for the future
Mr. Dirk HUDIG
European Risk Forum, Brussels, Belgium (confirmed)
12.00 - 12.20The Need for New Risk Assessment Approaches: the Case of Biological Risks
Prof. Geoffrey SMITH
Chair of the Royal Society Advisory Committee on the Scientific Aspects of International Security (confirmed)
12.20 - 13.00Discussion
13.00 - 14.30Lunch
Plenary Session 2: Working Towards Consistency in Risk Assessment
Chairperson: Prof. Thomas BURKE, John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Chair of the US National Academy of Sciences Committee on Improving Risk Analysis (confirmed)

Background, Objectives:
The objective of the session is to introduce the issues in question and to present the progress on the collaboration projects launched after the 1st International Risk Assessment Conference of 2008.

14.30 - 14.40Introduction on Improving Risk Assessment Approaches and Ensuring Consistency in Risk Assessment
Prof. Thomas BURKE (Chair)
John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Chair of the US National Academy of Sciences Committee on Improving Risk Analysis (confirmed)
14.40 - 15.20Risk Assessment to Risk Management - Terminology of Risk Assessment
- Introduction to the issueDr. Margaret HARTLEY
CEO Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering and Chair of the Steering Group "Harmonisation Project" International Programme of Chemical Safety (WHO) (confirmed)
- Presentation of the collaborative projectProf. Tony HARDY
Chair of the Plant Protection Panel, European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) (confirmed)
15.20 - 16.00Presentations on Treatment and Expression of Uncertainty in Risk Assessment
- Introduction to the issueProf. Gérard LASFARGUES
Directeur général adjoint scientifique, ANSES, Agence nationale de sécurité sanitaire de l'alimentation, de l'environnement et du travail, France
- Presentation of the
collaborative project		Dr. Andy HART
Plant Protection Panel, European Food Safety Authority, The Food and Environment Research Agency, FERA United Kingdom (confirmed)
16.00 - 16.20Coffee Break
16.20 - 17.00Presentations on Exposure Assessment
- Introduction to the issueProf. Helmut GREIM
Chair European Commission Scientific Committee on Health and Environmental Risks (confirmed)
- Presentation of the collaborative projectDr. Haluk OZKAYNAK
Senior Scientist, Office of Research and Development, National Exposure Research Laboratory, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (confirmed)
17.00 - 17.20Improving the Risk Assessment process – Meeting the needs of risk managers
Prof. Peter CALOW
Vice Chair of the European Commission Scientific Committee on Health and Environmental Risks (SCHER)(confirmed)
17.20 - 18.00Discussion and announcements for Day 2
19.30 - 22.00Dinner

DAY 2 – 27 JANUARY 2011
Objectives of the Workshops

These workshops are devoted to in-depth, interactive discussion on the three subjects identified for collaborative projects (terminology, uncertainty and exposure assessment) and for a preliminary exchange on two additional subjects: the approaches to weigh scientific evidence in risk assessment and for risk assessment of combined exposure and synergistic effects. The expected outcome in each case is a report to the Plenary on the issues, state of the art, possible recommendations and proposals for further collaborative work.

09.30 - 13.00Parallel Workshops
- Workshop 1: Risk Assessment Terminology
Chairperson: Dr. Peter CHAN, Director General, Health Evaluation Directorate Pesticides and Pest Management (PMRA), Health Canada (confirmed)

Rapporteur: Dr. Theo VERMEIRE, Deputy head of the RIVM Expert Centre for Substances, European Environmental Agency Scientific Committee, Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks (SCENIHR) (confirmed)

- Workshop 2: Uncertainty in Risk Assessment
Chairperson: Prof. Michel PETIT, Chair of the Environment Committee, French Academy of Science, and co-author of the IPCC Guidance Notes on Addressing Uncertainties (confirmed)

Rapporteur: Prof. Wolfgang DEKANT, Scientific Committee on Health and Environmental Risks, Wurzburg University, Institute of Toxicology, Germany (confirmed)

- Workshop 3: Exposure Assessment
Chairperson: Dr. Jose TARAZONA, Chair of the Risk Assessment Committee, European Chemical Agency (ECHA) (confirmed)

Rapporteur: Dr. Valerie ZARTARIAN, Office of Research and Development, US EPA (confirmed)

13.00 - 14.30Lunch
14.00 - 17.30Parallel Workshops
- Workshop 4: Evaluating Scientific Evidence in Risk Assessment
Chairperson: Prof. Jim BRIDGES, Chair EC Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks (SCENIHR) (confirmed)

Rapporteur: Dr. Vicki L. DELLARCO, Office of Pesticide Programs, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (TBC)

- Workshop 5: Risk assessment of Combined Exposure and Synergistic Effects
Chairperson: Prof. Andreas KORTENKAMP, Head of Centre for Toxicology, University of London (confirmed)

Rapporteur: Dr. Bette MEEK, Associate Director, Chemical Risk Assessment, McLaughlin Centre for Population Health Risk Assessment, University of Ottawa. (confirmed)

DAY 3 – 28 JANUARY 2011
Plenary Session 3: First Results of the Dialogue
Chairperson: Dr. Benoit D. TURCOTTE, Director, Regulatory Policy Regulatory Affairs Sector, Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, Director of Regulatory Policy, Treasury Board of Canada (confirmed)

Objectives:
The objectives for the Session are to discuss the reports from the parallel workshops 1, 2 and 3, endorse the conclusions and recommendations proposed and reaching consensus on the proposals for further activities.

09.30 - 10.00Report Workshop 1 and Discussion
10.00 - 10.30Report Workshop 2 and Discussion
10.30 - 11.00Report Workshop 3 and Discussion
11.00 - 11.30Coffee break
11.30 - 12.00Report Workshop 4 and Discussion
12.00 - 12.30Report Workshop 5 and Discussion
12.30 - 13.00Conclusions by the Chair
13.00 - 14.30Lunch
Plenary Session 4: The Future of the Global Risk Assessment Dialogue
Chairperson: Ms Paola TESTORI COGGI, Director General for Health and Consumers, European Commission (confirmed)

Objectives:
This final session will be devoted to a broad discussion on the experience, priorities, challenges and perspectives on risk analysis in the various jurisdictions and internationally and the priorities for the continuation and further development of the international dialogue and collaboration in this area. Panellists are also expected to comment on how best the dialogue platform offered by these International Conferences on risk assessment can provide risk-governance added value. Finally, this session will allow for the final conclusions, recommendations and decisions for future collaboration.

14.30 - 15.45Final Panel Discussion
Chaired by Paola Testori Coggi, Director General of the Health and Consumers Directorate General, European Commission with a high level panel
15.45 - 16.00Conference Conclusions