ERC News

GEOLOGICAL PARAMETERS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

Dr. Mike Heath and Dr. John Merefield presented a UNESCO-Sponsored Course on Geological Parameters for Environmental Protection in Windhoek, Namibia between 25 and 29 January 1999. The course was hosted by Berti Roesener of the Geological Survey (Namibia), the Ministry of Mines and Energy and the Earth Resources Centre, University of Exeter (UK).

Dr. Merefield said, 'The venue generated considerable interest in the environmental issues that form the basis for research being undertaken by the Earth Resources Centre. These themes in the field of mining impact and waste management were well illustrated on the field day visit to Namibia's oldest copper mine and Windhoek's municipal waste dump'.

Dr Peter Grainger now becomes consultant to the Earth Resources Centre, having retired as Director, the post held since setting up the ERC in 1989. ‘I will very much value Peter’s continued input and support in my new role’, says Dr John Merefield, who heads the Centre from now on.

Brian Evans and Dr John Merefield are working in collaboration with partners in Venezuela to use soil gas geochemistry for low-cost earthquake risk assessment. A three year research programme is funded by the Department of International Development through the British Council and British Embassy of Venezuela.

More information appears in Issue 6 (May 1998) of Earthworks, published by the British Geological Survey.

‘ISO 9001 Quality Assurance’

‘Dishing the dirt on pollution’

Experimental officers in the Air Quality Unit of the Earth Resources Centre at the University of Exeter conclude that air quality monitoring and regulation in the United Kingdom needs a more holistic approach. In order to establish direct links between airborne pollutants and health, airborne particles need to be characterised in better detail. Particles need to be counted and their physical and chemical properties established (including size) in addition to mass which is regularly monitored in the UK at present.

Housing & Hazard's first UK seminar : Disseminating safe building practice in low-income communities

The objective of the Housing & Hazards Group, based in the Earth Resources Centre, is to make safer houses available to vulnerable people in regions of the world affected by natural hazards. The Group hosted its first UK seminar in Exeter on 17th November 1997. The day included a report on the workshop organised in Dhaka last December and presentation of the conclusions of a nine-month field study of dissemination techniques. A report will be posted on the housing and hazards web page in early December.

For more information, please contact Dr Robert Hodgson at the Earth Resources Centre,

Coordinator, Housing & Hazards Group,
Earth Resources Centre,
University of Exeter,
North Park Road,
Exeter,
Devon,
EX4 4QE.

Telephone 01392 263900,
Fax +44-1392-263907.

email R.L.P.Hodgson@exeter.ac.uk