The WV TAP Expert Panel members have been finalized by the Toxicology Excellence for Risk
Newswise — Assessment (TERA) and are flying in from the United Kingdom, Israel, and across the USA to participate.
The Expert Panel will review and discuss the available toxicology data and the scientific support for the West Virginia Screening Level established at 10 parts per billion (ppb). They will discuss the initial starting value of 1 part per million (1,000 ppb) established by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and then consider if the additional safety factor applied by the State of West Virginia was protective of public health, based on available data. The panel will identify data gaps and make recommendations for additional studies or analyses that could strengthen the screening level and reduce uncertainty.
The following individuals will comprise the WV TAP Expert Panel (affiliations listed foridentification purposes only). They include:
Dr. Michael Dourson, Toxicology Excellence for Risk Assessment, Cincinnati, OhioSince 1995, Dr. Dourson has served as President for Toxicology Excellence for RiskAssessment. Dr. Dourson will Chair the Expert Panel and has over 30 years experience intoxicology, risk assessment and derivation of risk values. While with the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) he chaired the EPA's Reference Dose (RfD) Work Group, was a charter member of the US EPA's Risk Assessment Forum, and chief of the group that helped create the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS). Dr. Dourson received his Ph.D. in Toxicology from the University of Cincinnati and is a Diplomate of the American Board of Toxicology and a Fellow of the Academy of Toxicological Sciences. He has served on or chaired many expert panels in the US EPA, Food and Drug Administration (FDA), National Sanitation Foundation International, and independent organizations. He served as President of the American Board of Toxicology and Secretary for the Society for Risk Analysis, and has published more than 100 papers on risk assessment methods.
Dr. Shai Ezra, Mekorot, Israel National Water Company Ltd, Tel Aviv, IsraelDr. Ezra is the Director of the Water Security Department at the Water Quality Division of Mekorot. Dr. Dr Ezra's department is responsible for optimizing contaminant detectionefficiency, and applying advanced online monitoring systems and response strategies inMekorot's water systems. He is continually engaged in examining and developing state of the art technologies for early warning detection systems. Dr. Ezra received his Ph.D. and M.Sc. from the Geological and Environmental Sciences Department of Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Israel. Dr. Ezra has investigated water quality issues in water distribution systems and has lectured in environmental organic geochemistry. He has published on water contamination issues, including chemical transformation and degradation of organic contaminants in aquifers, and decontamination methods of water pipe systems after contamination events.
Dr. James Jacobus, Minnesota Department of Health, Saint Paul, Minnesota USADr. James Jacobus is a Research Scientist and Risk Assessor in the Health RiskAssessment Unit at the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) in St. Paul Minnesota. Dr.Jacobus derives multi-duration health-based guidance for drinking water contaminants ofspecial concern. In his position at MDH Dr. Jacobus has authored or reviewed toxicological assessments on approximately 15 contaminants of emerging concern, evaluating the available toxicity data to derive drinking water guidance values for acute, subchronic and chronic durations and addressing different life stages. Dr. Jacobus has worked as an environmental scientist engaged in the remediation of leaking underground storage tanks and performed basic science research on the genotoxicity of semi-volatile polychlorinated biphenyls and the biological effects of ionizing radiation. He earned his doctorate in Human Toxicology from the University of Iowa, trained as an NIH T-32 postdoctoral fellow, and holds an adjunct faculty appointment at the University of Minnesota.
Dr. Stephen Roberts, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida USADr. Steve Roberts is Director of the Center for Environmental & Human Toxicology at theUniversity of Florida, and is a Professor in the College of Veterinary Medicine, College of Medicine, and the College of Public Health and Health Professions. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Utah College of Medicine, and subsequently completed a National Institutes of Health (NIH) individual postdoctoral fellowship in pharmacokinetics at SUNY Buffalo. He has previously served on the faculties of the College of Pharmacy at the University of Cincinnati and the College of Medicine at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. Dr. Roberts conducts research in a number of areas of toxicology, including mechanisms of toxicity, toxicokinetics, nanotoxicology, and risk assessment. His research has been funded by several federal agencies, including the National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the Department of Defense. Dr. Roberts currently serves as an advisor to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and is on the Chemical Assessment Advisory Committee of the Science Advisory Board for the U.S. EPA.
Dr. Paul Rumsby, National Centre for Environmental Toxicology at WRc plc, UnitedKingdomDr. Paul Rumsby is a Principal Toxicologist and Technical Manager of the National Centre for Environmental Toxicology (NCET) at WRc plc (formerly the Water Research Centre), inSwindon, United Kingdom. He received his Ph.D. in biochemical pharmacology from theUniversity of Dundee and is a European Registered Toxicologist (ERT). He serves as theProject Manager and Overseeing Scientist for a24-hour toxicology advisory service andconducts scientific evaluations of data on occupational and environmental chemicals for risk assessment and drinking water monitoring studies on chemicals of regulatory importance. He has conducted reviews of toxicological data for human health risk assessments from drinking water contamination incidents and the setting of short-term guidance values. He has 25 years' laboratory research experience in molecular toxicology and cancer research and is an expert in mechanisms in toxicology including carcinogenesis, mutagenesis, neurotoxicity,and endocrine disruption. Dr. Rumsby has authored numerous peer-reviewed publications on drinking water contaminants.
Media organizations should contact Dr. Andrew Whelton for event access coordination [email protected].
WV TAP April 1, 2014 Press Conference Finalized
After the Expert Panel convenes a press conference will be conducted Tuesday April 1 at West Virginia State University in Institute, West Virginia. The Expert Panel press conference will be held in the Ferrell Hall Auditorium. The auditorium, on the 2nd floor of Ferrell Hall, has theatre style audience seating for 400 persons on the lower level and 200 persons in the balcony. The event will begin at 10:00 AM EDT and conclude at approximately 11:00 PM EDT.
The press conference will be open to the public. Organizations should contact Dr. Andrew Whelton for access coordination at [email protected].
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