Conference to explore health impacts of poor air quality

Upwind Downwind, a biennial conference on air pollution and health, will be held at the Hamilton Convention Centre on Monday, Feb. 27 and Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2006. The theme of this year's Upwind Downwind conference is “Cities, Air and Health”.

“The inter-relationship between air pollution, urban form, and health is a prominent topic, and the Upwind Downwind conference provides an important venue for various stakeholders to come together and discuss research progress,” says Bruce Newbold, director of the McMaster Institute of Environment and Health (MIEH).

The conference focuses on the health impacts of poor air quality and how land use decisions impact air quality. It serves as an important networking and information forum for the exchange of research findings and innovative ideas to measure and improve air quality.

“The Upwind/Downwind Conference provides an interactive venue where scientists, policy makers, health professionals, planners and NGOs can present their perspectives of the impacts that poor air quality is having on communities and discuss ways to improve air quality, particularly in urban areas”, says Brian McCarry, a McMaster University chemist who chairs Clean Air Hamilton.

The conference also highlights the roles that industry, community groups, academia and government play in achieving air quality improvements.

The keynote speaker of the event is Larry Frank, the Bombardier Chairholder in Sustainable Transportation in the School of Community and Regional Planning and Institute for Resources and Environmental Sustainability at the University of British Columbia. He will be lecturing on “Improving Air Quality Through Growth Management and Travel Reduction Strategies.”

The conference is intended to provide meaningful information on current air quality issues and an opportunity for open discussion between planners, public health officials, policy makers, environmental managers, community groups, non-government organizations, industry, academics and politicians in a small conference, multi-stakeholder environment.

Upwind Downwind is co-hosted by the City of Hamilton and Clean Air Hamilton, and the McMaster Institute of Environment and Health is a major conference sponsor and organizer.

“MIEH is very pleased to provide organizational assistance with this and it fits with our own research, service and education objectives,” says Newbold.

For more information, visit: www.mcmaster.ca/mieh.