TURI - Toxics Use Reduction Institute

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Continuing Education Conference

Sturbridge Host Hotel and Conference Center
366 Main Street
Sturbridge, MA 01566 Concurrent Morning Sessions from 9:00 to Noon Choose One

Concurrent Afternoon Sessions from 1:00 to 4:00 Choose One

A: Is an EMS the Way to go in Your Company?

Speaker: Madeline Snow, Lead Trainer, EMS Service Program, UMass Lowell. This full day session will present you with fundamental information about Environmental Management Systems (EMS). Throughout the day, you may participate in activities to try your own hand at developing an EMS, and gain insight into how EMS implementation has worked out for your industry peers. This conference track is designed for TUR Planners who have little or no experience with EMS but are interested in exploring the possibilities at their companies or with their clients. As a result of participating in this workshop, you will improve your own literacy about EMS, learn the business advantages of implementing an EMS, and have the motivation and knowledge to begin the process at your facility.

B: TURA Update

Speakers: Rich Bizzozero, Team Leader, Massachusetts Office of Technical Assistance; Walter Hope, Department of Environmental Protection BWP Business Reporting Services; David Lutes, TURA Program Manager.This session will cover several of the more common reporting errors associated with completing the Form-S. Additionally, DEP hasdeveloped a new question and answer (Q&A) document that will help individuals use the new electronic reporting system more effectively. A review of the Q&A document as well as helpful hints
for using the new system will be covered. Finally, Senator Resor has filed legislation to update several provisions in the TURA statute. An update on the key proposed changes will be provided.

C: Alternatives Assessment: A Practical Approach Based on Science

Speaker: Carole LeBlanc, Director, Surface Solutions Laboratory, TURI This 3-hour tutorial takes you through the steps of evaluating, choosing and gaining acceptance of alternative chemicals and processes. Not merely descriptive of environmentally preferable products, the goal of this session is to prepare you to select alternatives which will also meet the new federal guidelines for the procurement of biobased materials that you and your staff will actually want to use. Discover the analytical and decision-making tools used to meet or exceed existing performance and cost criteria that management can accept. Participants will benefit from the instructor’s ten-plus years of experience in applications development and surface characterization. Time will be allotted for application-specific questions. Areas to be covered: process validation, equipment comparison, worker health and safety, environmental indicators, chemical security, regulatory issues and economic factors. Included in the course: The +250-page reference CD, "The Search for Safer and Greener Chemical Solvents in Surface Cleaning," C. LeBlanc, Erasmus University, Rotterdam, the Netherlands (2001).

Concurrent Afternoon Sessions from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM

D: Is an EMS the Way to go in Your Company?
Continuation of Session A. Both sessions are required for credit.

E: The Toxicology of High Priority and More Hazardous Substances
Speaker: Robert E. Burr M.D. State and federal environmental requirements that target certain persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic substances are becoming increasingly stringent and affecting more companies than ever. A selection of chemicals designated in Massachusetts as high-priority substances (HPS) and more hazardous substances will be addressed. In this session, Doctor Robert E. Burr, a distinguished physician and toxicologist, presents a fascinating and approachable look at how these and other toxic chemicals affect the body.

F: Toxics Use Reduction Institute EMS Network Meeting
This session is a closed session offered to past participants of the EMS Network
Facilitators: Pam Civie, Industry Research Program Manager, TURI; Janet Clark, Associate Director, TURI The TURI EMS Network will meet to discuss three topics: 1. Preparing for and experiencing a registration or surveillance audit; 2. Legal issues associated with listing environmental aspects and defining objectives and targets; and 3. Lessons from stakeholder communication programs. Experts will be asked to give an overview to these topics, but the majority of the learning will emerge from the peer discussion, in the style of the peer mentoring workgroups. The TURI EMS Network is made up of the more than 60 companies who have participated in the TURI EMS Peer Workgroups since 2000. This is an invitationonly event for current and past participants, with limited space, so register early.