2009 Midyear Meeting — Recent Advances in Planning and Response to Radiation Emergencies

31 January—3 February 2009

Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center
San Antonio, Texas

Deadline for abstract submittal: 31 July 2008

The South Texas Chapter and the Homeland Security Committee of the Health Physics Society (HPS)
are pleased to announce that the topic for the 42nd Annual Midyear Meeting of the HPS will be
Recent Advances in Planning and Response to Radiation Emergencies. This will be a repeat
performance for San Antonio, having hosted the 2003 midyear meeting, which also centered on radiation emergency response. Attendance was excellent due to the venue and the topic.

Over the course of more than five years since homeland security and emergency response was the
subject for an entire meeting, many aspects of emergency planning and response and security of radioactive materials have been further developed and implemented at the local, state, and federal levels. In addition, emergency preparedness activities now involve a greater need for the private sector and the public sector to train and work hand-in-hand prior to and during emergencies. Members of the HPS, other scientists, and students are invited to submit papers related to the following topics:

Integration of agencies and resources
Medical response activities by hospital and emergency medical systems
Training and guidance for professionals, first responders, first receivers, and members of the public in response to a radiological attack
Radiation hazards from radiological dispersal devices
Cleanup of areas affected by nuclear weapons or dispersal devices
Interdiction and security of radiological materials
Crisis risk communication
Border and port initiatives

More details and submission guidelines will be posted later.

Note that the upcoming midyear meeting has been shifted one day from the usual timeline of Sunday
through Wednesday. The 2009 Midyear will start on Saturday and conclude on Tuesday.
Please help us in making this a truly world-class meeting and submit those abstracts!