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BOOK REVIEW

Proceedings of the Eighth National Symposium on Environment (June 22-25, 1999)

Published by Indra Gandhi Center for Atomic Research, Kalpakkam.TN. 252p.

Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR), Kalpakkam and Meenakshi College for Women, Chennai jointly organised the Eighth National Symposium on Environment (NSE-8) from 22nd to 25th June, 1999. The symposium was sponsored by Board of Research in Nuclear Science (BRNS), Department of Atomic Energy (DAE).

Dr. R. Chidambaram, Chairman, AEC and Secretary DAE inaugurated it on 22nd June 1999 at GSB auditorium, IGCAR, Kalpakkam. Dr. P.C. Kesavan, DAE-Home Bhabha Chair, MSSRF, Chennai gave Key Note address.

The IGCAR was set up at Kalpakkam in 1971 with the specific objective of developing and establishing the technology of fast breeder reactors in the country. Since 1992, BRNS has been sponsoring an annual National Symposium on Environment (NSE) to provide a forum for discussion on current developments in Environmental Sciences. As per tradition a volume "Proceedings of the Eighth National Symposium on Environment" containing the full text of all the invited talks and contributed papers had been brought out.

The main focus of this symposium was Strategies for Marine Environmental Protection. This assumes importance as India is endowed with over 7,500km long coastline and upon the resources of which millions depend for their livelihood. Nearly one-third of the invited contributed presentations dealt with marine environment. The symposium was divided into XII technical sessions i.e., Marine Pollution Monitoring, Marine Sediment Dynamics, Hydrological Studies, Chemical Pollution, Marine Radioactivity, Terrestrial Radioactivity, Environmental Monitoring, Environmental Impact and Environmental Management.

Each session had one or two invited talks and some contributed papers covering the related topics under different sessions. Though the main theme of the seminar was strategies in marine environment, it covered wider range of environmental problems e.g., estuaries, coastal environment and also inland. The some social problems like radioactivity and its effect on population, remote sensing, fate of contaminants in water, biota and sediments, pollutant transfer and transport processes in sea, industrial pollution were also discussed. Topics related to analytical techniques, computer modelling, emerging trends and techniques in marine monitoring etc were covered. The analytical techniques will help young researcher to bring out the best in their research. There were a large number of papers concerned with radiation in the environment.

The proceeding contains all the papers presented in the symposium. Some of the papers are "Remote sensing and Geographical Information System for Coastal Resource Applications" by S. Adiga, NNRMS, ISRO, Banglore. "Human Health Risk Assessment for Exposure to pesticide: A Case Study of Endocrine disruptors" by Kalpana Balakrishnan, SRMCRI, Chennai. "Anaerobic digestion of High Solid Wastes by S.A. Abbasi and E.V. Ramasamy, Pondicherry Central University, Pondicherry. Radioactivties in marine Environment by K.L. Krishnan, Chennai. New development in Monitoring System for detection of Environmental Change by D. K. Mills and many more important topics.

The Symposium concluded by the speech of Mr.T.M. Krishnamurthy, Head, Environmental Assessment Division, BARC, Mumbai and was one step forward in the march to finding solutions of well known problems associated with effluent discharges and consequential adverse effects on human health and the environment.

Date: 30/06/99.

Manju Rawat
School of Environmental Sciences
Jawaharlal Nehru University
New Delhi-67.


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