5DiscoverFEATUREThe Training Course on Risk Assessment and Management of Chemicals (TCRAMC) was the first of its kind held in Brunei Darussalam and PAPRSB Institute of Health Sciences (IHS) UBD is most honoured to have been able to host it. The course was conducted by the distinguished and internationally renowned Chulabhorn Research Institute (CRI) in Thailand, led by Professor Dr Her Royal Highness Princess Chulabhorn Mahidol herself, President of the Chulabhorn Research Institute as well as course director, along with coordinators both from IHS and CRI (Khunying Mathuros Ruchirawat; Chair Professor Dr. David Koh; Dr Nik Ani Afiqah Tuah) and CRI teaching faculty (Professor Dr. HRH, president, CRI Thailand; Professor Autrup, University of Aarhus, Denmark; Professor MacIntosh, Harvard School of Public Health, Department of Environmental Health, Massachusetts USA; Khunying Mathuros Ruchirawat, CRI Thailand; Jutamaad Satayavivad CRI Thailand; Dr Daam Settachan, CRI Thailand; Professor van den Berg, Utrecht University, The Netherlands).The 70 participants of the TCRAMC came from different faculties within UBD (the Faculty of Science and IHS), Institut Teknologi Brunei (ITB), Government ministries (Department of laboratory services, Department of Public Health, Department of Health Services, Ministry of Health; Department of Public Works, Ministry of Development; Department of Labour, Fire and Rescue Department, Ministry of Home Affairs; Department of Agriculture and Agrifood, Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources), private sectors/companies (BLNG, Brunei Shell and Brunei Methanol; The Empire Hotel and Country Club; Jerudong Park Medical Centre) and an international participant from the Philippines.Professor Dr. HRH Princess Chulabhorn delivers lecture on The Fate of Chemicals at CRI/UBD organised courseThe four-day training course (14 to 18 October 2013) was an integration of science and policy, and covered the fundamental basis of risk assessment and risk management. The process included identification of the hazard, assessment methods, risk characterisation and risk management. Emphasis was placed on potential adverse health effects of human exposure to environmental hazards, although the principles of ecological risk assessment were also covered. TCRAMC also taught the application of risk assessment methods to various problems and described the policy context in which decisions to manage environmental health risks are made. Importantly, TCRAMC taught the practical application of risk assessment methods to various problems such as how risk assessment is conducted and what different issues are involved (for example, hazardous waste site release) through the use of case studies relevant to problems faced in developing countries. One of the interesting features of the course is the use of an electronic long Distance Learning Tool (eEDLT) for management of chemicals in Occupational and Environmental Health practice. The eDLT was officially launched by Professor Dr. Her Royal Highness Princess Chulabhorn Mahidol on the occasion of a visit to the World Health Organization’s regional office for Southeast Asia in New Delhi in March 2013. It will serve as a very useful platform for training and building national capabilities as well as expertise.
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