The City of Lakes and IH
If there are any industrial hygienists out there that are feeling a little bit unappreciated, don't despair. It's time once again for the annual American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Expo (May 31-June 5). Hosted this year in the great city of Minneapolis, thousands of professionals are expected to flock to the Minneapolis Convention Center. With nearly 480,000 square feet of trade show space and a 28,000-square-foot ballroom, the convention center was recently named one of the nation's top 15 most eco-friendly convention centers by Expo and is located 20 minutes from the airport.
The city itself boasts a rich, "green" history. Although it didn't start out that way, it can easily be said that Minneapolis was green before there was a movement to speak of. The city's location on both banks of the Mississippi River, just north of the river's confluence with the Minnesota River, made it a perfect early candidate for hydroelectric power; however, after years of overuse and erosion from the many lumber and flour mills in the area took their toll, the city took a turn for the better in 1937 when the Army Corps of Engineers made improvements to preserve the St. Anthony Falls, the Mississippi's only waterfall. This event served as a first step toward the city's becoming what many today consider to be one of the country's most environmentally conscious urban areas.
AIHce 2008's early program offerings fit right in, with a pre-conference Sustainability 101 course on the schedule, along with a plethora of others on environmental assessment and environmental bacteria, as well as technical sessions exploring hazmat shipping, mold remediation, and more.