This special issue of the International Journal of Environmental Analytical Chemistry is devoted to the 5th European Conference on Pesticides and Related Organic Micropollutants in the Environment and the 11th Symposium on Chemistry and Fate of Modern Pesticides, which were held in Marseille, France, from 22 to 25 October 2008. The conference was once again a joint venture of the International Association of Environmental Analytical Chemistry (IAEAC) and the European-Mediterranean Association for Environmental Education, Assessment and Protection (ENEAP) and was organised by the Laboratoire Chimie Provence of the Provence University and the Institut des Sciences Moléculaires de Marseille of the Paul Cezanne University in Marseille. The joint celebration of these scientific events has provided an excellent opportunity for researchers worldwide to exchange ideas and results, and to further enhance international cooperation.
The conference covered all aspects of pesticides in the environment, from analytical methodologies to risk assessment and remediation techniques. The papers collected in this issue, presented during the Symposium and published following the regular peer review procedure, illustrate the main areas of development in the field, including recent advances in environmental analysis, knowledge on the occurrence and fate of pesticides in the environment, and remediation techniques to reduce pesticide inputs in the environment.
As the chairman of the conference, I would like to thank all the participants who, with their presence and their scientific communications, contributed to safeguarding the high scientific reputation of these symposia earned in their long series of events. More than 120 papers (40 oral presentations) were presented. The single poster session, lasting for the three days, was also of great interest and gave a unique opportunity to the participants to share their achievements in the area. The ‘Roland W. Frei Award’ sponsored by the IAEAC was given to Maria José Gomez Ramos from the University of Almeria for her poster entitled ‘A new gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) method for the analysis of target and non target contaminants in waters’ and her contribution in developing analytical methodologies not only aimed at quantifying targeted compounds but also at screening pesticides and others organic pollutants in environmental waters.
I would emphasise the innovative criteria to which the Organising Committee has worked, encouraged by the Scientific Committee. Our primary effort was to increase the internationalisation of the symposium. We are particularly glad for the participation of scientists from almost all the continents, including Africa, and also from other European countries that have not been present in the previous symposia in the series. Our second effort was to include young scientists in oral sessions. Their ability to present their interesting experimental results in a clear and convincing way for most of them for the first time in a scientific meeting made this choice a big success, as a general opinion.
My impression, on the basis of several messages received after the symposium by colleagues, is that this symposium was a success and, as usual, a decisive contribution was given both by the geographical context (the old harbour of Marseille) and by the social programme. The 6th European Conference on Pesticides and Related Organic Micropollutants in the Environment and the 12th Symposium on Chemistry and Fate of Modern Pesticides will be held in Matera, Italy, from 7 to 10 September 2010, with Professor Sabino Bufo as chairman. I am quite sure of its success. See you in Matera.