Newsletter 2001

Next Dinner Meeting:  Nov. 11

The next dinner meeting will be on Sunday, November 11 at the Dhahran International Hotel. The sponsor is Saudi Aramco's Environmental Protection Department and the speaker is Nadeem N. Ahmedkhan, Environmental Engineer with Saudi Aramco. Nadeem holds a B.Eng. (Hons), MSc and PhD from the UK.

The title of the presentation is "The Integration of a New Air Monitoring Technology into the Saudi Aramco AMMNET Program". Nadeem will speak about emerging technologies in the field of ambient air quality monitoring, particularly optical tech-niques that use open air paths as opposed to conventional single-point monitoring. One of the new ORS technologies Ultra-Violet Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy has proved to be beneficial to Saudi Aramco in several areas and plans are underway to integrate this technology into the Saudi Aramco Air Quality Monitoring and Meteorology (AMMNET) program. Other areas of air quality management such as stack and fugitive emission monitoring will also be covered.

Registration will begin at 6:30 pm, dinner will be served at 7:00 pm, and the presentation will follow. There will be a charge of SR 15 for members and SR 30 for non-members. If you plan to attend, please register by calling Talal Al-Enazi at 03-874-6427 or email enezitf@aramco.com.sa.

Last Dinner Meeting

The June 5 meeting featured Dr. Fareed Krupp from the Strategic Action Program for the Red Sea & Gulf of Aden (PERSGA). His presentation was titled "Conserving the Marine Environment of the Red Sea and the Arabian Gulf". Many thanks to Abdul Karim H. Al-Sinan Trading for sponsoring this meeting.

Free Gift to New/Renewing Members

All members who join or renew their membership between November 1, 2001 and June 30, 2002 will receive their choice of one of the following gifts:  key chain, calculator-calendar, or pen. Gifts can only be picked up at an SAS-A&WMA event by the new/renewing member. International renewals must show up on the official A&WMA membership list in order to qualify (to check your status, go to www.awma.org and log in with your membership number).

New Directors Installed

Jim Findley of Saudi Aramco is SAS-A&WMA's new Treasurer, taking the place of Mohammed Al-Hajri who has an out-of-Kingdom assignment. Mahmud Osman of A.M. Qahtani Est./Culligan Division is our new Director, taking the place of Hugh VanNoordwyk whose term has expired. Jihad Shanaa, Faisal Alzawad and Laura Arnold have decided to remain as Directors for the next term. The Section would like to thank those Board Members who have left and to welcome the new ones. Here is a complete list of our current Board:

Visit PETROTECH on Oct. 29-31

The 3rd Middle East Refining & Petrochemicals Conference & Exhibition will take place at the Bahrain International Exhibit Center from Oct. 29-31, 2001 (the keynote speakers will open the conference on Sunday night, Oct. 28). A preliminary technical program can be found at www.petrotech.com.bh.

Environmental Exhibit at Saudi Aramco

"Saudi Aramco and the Environment" is the latest exhibit at Saudi Aramco's Community Heritage Gallery in Dhahran. Exhibit visitors are treated to extensive high-quality displays, posters and panels filled with photos and information about environmental issues, especially those that have significant impact on the Kingdom's welfare in general and Saudi Aramco business in particular. Air Quality Monitoring, Desertification, Marine Research, Dangerous Marine Animals, Mangrove Transplantation, Wastewater Management, Environmental Health, Radiation Protection and Coral Reefs are just a few of the subjects covered in the exhibit, which will run until November 30th 2001.

The Gallery is open from 9:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. Saturday through Wednesday, from 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. on Thursday and closed on Friday. If you are coming from outside Saudi Aramco and/or would like to organize a group tour in either English or Arabic, please call the Heritage Gallery at 872-0458 to make an appointment. This is an especially good opportunity for you to bring your family, friends and educational groups to learn more about the local environment.

SAS-A&WMA Website

SAS-A&WMA now has an internet presence -- www.awma-sa.org. The website describes (in both Arabic and English) our Section, its activities, and how to become a member. We plan to keep the site updated with current information, newsletters and dinner meeting notices. But please keep in mind that the volunteer webmasters are new to this activity, therefore they need a few months to get the hang of their new responsibilities! If you would like to submit information for posting, or comments about the website, please use the online feedback form or contact Faisal Alzawad at 055-825630.

A&WMA Annual Conference & Exhibit

The A&WMA 94th annual conference & exhibit will open on June 24th in Orlando, Florida. This will be a great opportunity for environmental professionals from around the world to network, share ideas and experiences, and be part of the most important event sponsored by the Association. For information, go to www.awma.org.

Welcome New Members

Welcome to the following new A&WMA inter-national members: Abdullah Bin Haider (DPA/ JAFZA), Jamal Yasin (Al-Jubail Fertilizer Co.), Taweek Al-Shammasi and Abdulrahman Al-Matter (Saudi Iron and Steel Co.) and James Findley (Saudi Aramco). Also welcome to our new Local Associates: Mohammed Al-Shafloot, Majid Aseeri, and Mustafa Al-Shangiti (RGME), AbdelRahman Al Jaber (KFUPM), and Naeem Al-Hussain (Saudi Aramco).

NOTE: Many of the members who joined last spring/summer have not yet renewed their membership. The Association depends upon memberships for a large part of its revenue and will not continue to exist without a healthy membership base. If you would like to discuss your reason for not renewing, please contact one of the Board Members. Perhaps we could incorporate some of your ideas into our Section to make it more attractive.

SAS-A&WMA Token Items for Sale

A number of attractive items with the AS-A&WMA logo are now for sale. They will be available at all Section events and by contacting one of the board members.

Next Dinner Meeting:  June 05

The next dinner meeting will be on Tuesday, June 5, 2001 in honor of World Environment Day. It will be held at the Dhahran International Hotel in Dhahran and sponsored by Abdul Karim H. Al-Sinan Trading. The speaker is Dr. Fareed Krupp, Chief Technical Advisor, Strategic Action Program for the Red Sea & Gulf of Aden (PERSGA). Dr. Krupp holds a PhD from Mainz University in Germany and has published more than 100 scientific papers.

The title of the presentation will be Conserving the Marine Environment of the Red Sea and the Arabian Gulf. Both of these water bodies suffer from increased habitat destruction, non-sustainable use of living marine resources, navigation risks, ship and land based pollution, impact of urban and industrial development and coastal tourism. The talk will discuss ongoing conservation efforts.

The meeting room will open at 6:15 pm, the presentation will start at 6:45 pm and dinner will follow. There will be a charge of SR 15 for members and SR 30 for non-members.

If you plan to attend, please register by calling Mr. Talal Al-Enazi at 03-874-6427, or email.  Don't miss this chance to hear a distinguished speaker and celebrate World Environment Day.

Last Dinner Meeting

The January 23 dinner meeting featured Dr. M.A. Gondal from the Center of Applied Physical Sciences, Research Institute - King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals.  His presentation was titled "Laser Remote Sensing and its Environmental Applications".

New Directors Needed

Each year SAS-A&WMA elects new Officers and Directors who would serve for two years. It is time to elect new Directors. The Directors are expected to attend as many Board meetings as possible, which are normally held in Dharan about 6 times a year. They vote on issues brought up by the Board, support other activities and help develop new activities for the Section. If you are interested in serving, please contact Khalaf Al-Anazi, Section Chair, at 03-874-6428.

A&WMA Annual Meeting

The A&WMA 94th annual meeting will be held June 24th in Orlando, Florida. This should be a great opportunity for environmental professionals from around the world to network, share ideas and experiences, and be part of the most important event sponsored by the Association. For information, go to www.awma.org.

Welcome New Members

Welcome to the following new A&WMA inter-national members: Yakeen Abdulslam, (College of Health Science, Jizan), Abdullah Albahusain (Saudi Aramco), Jafer Bu-Saad (Schlumberger Dowell SA), Mahmud Osman (A.M. Qahtani/Culligan Div.), and Walid Sukkari (Saudi Bin Ladin Group). Also welcome to our new Local Associates: Adbulha-keem Al-Arfaj and Yousif Al-Nabulsi (ABV-ROCK, Riyadh) and Khalid Mekhlal (Ar-Razi, Jubail).

Our membership has been slowly spreading throughout Saudi Arabia, plus we have a few members in Bahrain and UAE. If you are interested in helping to organize a meeting outside the Dhahran/Dammam area, please call Khalid Abdulkader, Vice-Chair, at 03-876-2757.