Welcome to the AHMP Cyber Chapter
We are a group of officers dedicated to "Connecting Hazardous Materials Professionals Worldwide".
With new lower dues of $35 annually, we think everyone will want to be a member of the Cyber Chapter!
You don’t have to be a CHMM to be part of the chapter!
The AHMP Cyber Chapter is partnering with ChABSA to present
Dr. Karen R. Lips of
University of Maryland, College Park
Will Present on:
“Emerging Infectious Diseases of Wildlife: A Biosecurity Threat”
May 15, 2019 (talk estimated to start at 7:00 PM EDT)
Dr. Karen Lips is Professor of Biology at the University of Maryland. She has a B.S. in Zoology from the University of South Florida, and a Ph.D. in Biology from the University of Miami. She is a field ecologist who studies how global change affects biodiversity. She is interested in how the loss of biodiversity affects communities and ecosystems, and how human activities contribute to the spread of disease and loss of biodiversity. Dr. Lips was a Jefferson Science Fellow at the Department of State, where she worked in the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, in the Office of Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, and where she served as an Embassy Science Fellow in Colombia. Dr. Lips is a Research Associate at the US Museum of Natural History, an AAAS Leshner Leadership Public Engagement Fellow, an AAAS Fellow, an ESA Fellow, and an Aldo Leopold Leadership Fellow. She was awarded the President's Award of the Chicago Zoological Society, a Bay and Paul Biodiversity Leadership Award, the Sabin Amphibian Conservation Award in 2012, and the inaugural UMD Impact Communicator Award. Dr. Lips is interested in increasing engagement on environmental issues, promoting scientific leadership, and fostering international scientific collaborations.
Join us for our next Cyber Chapter Technical Seminar
Dr. Paul Sambanis of
University of Illinois at Chicago
will present on:
Lessons Learned from Disaster Planning: Analysis of Natural Disaster Flooding Impact on Chemical Facilities in the United States .
Monday May 20th, 1:30 PM EDT
Free to our members - click here to register (remember to log in first)
Chemical facilities create engineering safeguards to prevent a release of their chemicals into environment, but the underestimated strength of natural disasters can cause major complications. Chemical facilities such as toxic release inventory (TRI) facilities contain chemicals, most of which must be kept in balanced states otherwise meltdowns, where leaks are possible if not probable. Due to this fragility of the environment surrounding these chemicals, the United States Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board has recommended that chemical facilities determine if they are in a floodplain on a routine basis. This study is the first of its kind to analyze the United States as whole to understand how many chemical facilities are current at risk to be impacted by floods. In order to identify which TRI facilities at greatest risk, an
analysis of the National Flood Hazard Layer and TRI facilities ensued. Current TRI facility data from all 50 states was obtained from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) Facility Registry Service (FRS) and analyzed within ArcGIS. The national analysis included all TRI facilities currently intersecting the 100-year floodplain based on the current National Flood Hazard Layer. The frequency which TRI facilities are impacted by flooding was analyzed with federal declarations data. We then explored the state-level rates of facilities fall into the flood zone. All 50 states had some measure of risk of chemical facilities located in the 100-year floodplain. In addition, we discuss how we are developing a new and improved mathematical model to identify flooding risk for geographic areas and what your facility can do to help prepare.
Dr. Sambanis is currently an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Division of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences at UIC’s School of Public Health Division and Regional Health Safety and Environmental Manager for Henkel (a Fortune 500 Company). For more than fifteen years, he has focused on practicing risk management and regulatory compliance in Chicago, Illinois. His work has included environmental assessments, emergency response, business continuity, resilience characterization, and remediation for a variety of private sector clients.
His academic accomplishments includes being a GIS, Spatial Analysis and Decision Assistance (SADA), and HAZUS expert, which, in combination with his strong quantitative background, creates the ideal profile for his current research involving risk visualization and decision support content for managing disasters or measuring resilience. His past research includes evaluation of a geospatial health risk computer program funded by the USEPA known as Spatial Analysis and Decision Assistance (SADA), implementing the CDC BRACE climate change adaptation framework for the state of Illinois, and developing a Private Sector Integration Plan for the creation of logistical inventory software to be used during a disaster response event.
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