News Release

January 3, 2008

Contact: Carolyn Pennington, 860-679-4864
e-mail: cpennington@uchc.edu

Going Green – Meeting the Challenges of the New Global Marketplace

Alternative Products and Green Chemistry Conference Feb. 7

FARMINGTON, Conn. – A conference aimed at increasing awareness about toxic substances and the changing global business environment will take place from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 7 at the Northeast Utilities Conference Center in Berlin. Alternative Products and Green Chemistry: Challenges and Opportunities of the New Global Marketplace is sponsored by the Occupational and Environmental Health Center at the University of Connecticut Health Center and will help business leaders identify the tools and resources needed to compete in a greener marketplace.

Occupational and environmental expert Tim Morse says new international chemical policies such as REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemical Substances) and the Globally Harmonized System will have major impacts on Connecticut businesses. “The conference will focus on strategies to maintain or expand markets in Europe under these new regulatory requirements,” explains Morse. “We’ll also discuss some of the new approaches being developed that greatly help in the availability and choice of safer chemical alternatives.”

Speakers include Ray Anderson, the founder of Interface Flooring and Gina McCarthy, the Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection. Several workshops will be held focusing on changing international chemical policies and their implications for Connecticut businesses. Health, safety, and environmental managers; academics and scientists; public health professionals; and community and environmental group members are urged to attend.

For more information about the conference, visit www.oehc.uchc.edu/uconnconference.asp.

The University of Connecticut Health Center includes the schools of medicine and dental medicine, the UConn Medical Group, University Dentists, and John Dempsey Hospital, a Solucient Top 100 Hospital® 2006. Founded in 1961, the Health Center pursues a mission of providing outstanding health care education in an environment of exemplary patient care, research and public service. To learn more about the UConn Health Center, visit our website at www.uchc.edu.

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