ASTM International has announced the dates of their next asbestos conference. The 2010 Michael E. Beard Asbestos Conference will focus on laboratory issues and will be held January 28th and 29th, 2010, at the Grand Hyatt in San Antonio, Texas.

Next year’s conference will be sponsored by ASTM International Committee D22 on Air Quality, a group that was formed in 1951 to handle standards and guidelines related to air quality monitoring and testing methods and research.

ASTM has previously held asbestos conferences, beginning in 1986. Discussions at the conferences have lead to advancements in asbestos laws and air quality testing methods. Typically, the conferences have been held during the summer months, but the ASTM chose a January date in an effort to accommodate the schedules of asbestos professionals, who are often unable to attend a summer conference.

The two-day gathering in San Antonio will bring together those who work in the area of laboratory testing and will be divided into four different sessions: Analysis of Soil and Other Media, Quality Assurance, Training, and Interlaboratory Studies, Definitions of Asbestos, Cleavage Fragments and NOA Considerations, and Issues of Interaction among Laboratories and the National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program (NVLAP), Auditors, and Government Agencies.

ASTM is currently seeking presenters to speak at each session, and encourage those interested to submit a title and abstract by Friday, March 27th. Each presentation will be approximately 20 minutes in length.

Online registration for the 2010 conference will open in November, and will close on January 20, 2010. To register, please visit http://www.astm.org/MEETINGS/COMMIT/d22symp0110.htm.

The conference is named for Michael E. Beard, a longtime member of D22, who passed away in 2008.

Ongoing study of asbestos and the constant updating of related legislation is crucial, as asbestos exposure remains a very serious health concern. Exposure to asbestos, even in small amounts, may lead to the development of a number of often fatal diseases, including pleural mesothelioma cancer.

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