Expert Details
Toxicology
ID: 733029
Texas, USA
Expert has a Bachelor's Degree in Mechanical Engineering and a Master's Degree in Environmental Science and Engineering from Rice University in Houston, Texas. His doctoral degree is in Environmental Science and Engineering from the University of North Carolina School of Public Health. He has also done a Post-Doctoral Fellowship in Toxicology in the College of Pharmacy at the University of Texas at Austin.
In the past, Expert has worked as an environmental engineer for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. He has worked as a toxicologist for the U.S. EPA, the State of Texas Air Pollution Control Board, and the consulting firm of Jones & Neuse in Austin, Texas. For the past 20 years, Expert has owned and operated his own toxicology and engineering consulting firm, Expert Toxicology Consulting.
Expert's professional activities include active membership in many technical associations and service on various City and State citizen committees in the areas of air quality, risk assessment, and solid waste management. He also served as an Adjunct Professor in the Environmental Health Division of the University of Texas School of Public Health in San Antonio (1987-2000). He is a technical consultant for the television shows “CSI Las Vegas” and “Bones” and a peer reviewer for U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Texas Commission on Environmental Quality human health risk assessment documents. He has attended more than 140 technical environmental conferences and made presentations at more than 30 of these meetings.
Education
| Year | Degree | Subject | Institution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Year: 1984 | Degree: Post-doctoral Fellowship | Subject: Toxicology | Institution: University of Texas College of Pharmacy |
| Year: 1981 | Degree: PhD | Subject: Environmental Toxicology | Institution: University of North Carolina School of Public Health |
| Year: 1972 | Degree: Master of Science | Subject: Environmental Science and Engineering | Institution: Rice University |
| Year: 1969 | Degree: Bachelor of Arts | Subject: Mechanical Engineering | Institution: Rice University |
Work History
| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
|---|---|---|---|
| Years: 1994 to 2016 | Employer: Self Employed | Title: Principal Toxicologist | Department: |
Responsibilities:Operates his own environmental consulting firm that specializes in toxicology and human health risk assessment. His work includes health risk analyses for site remediations, health effects evaluations for air and hazardous waste permitting, product safety evaluations, and other toxicological evaluations. He is very familiar with the quantitative risk assessment methodologies and with other methods for assessing the potential for adverse effects from exposure to environmental contaminants. Expert also serves as an expert witness in toxic tort cases, regulatory agency public hearings, Worker’s Compensation cases, and other legal proceedings. |
|||
| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 1991 to 1994 | Employer: Jones and Neuse, Inc. | Title: Toxicologist | Department: Air Quality Area |
Responsibilities:This job entailed health risk assessments, air emissions calculations, writing proposals, doing cost estimates and other functions associated with assisting clients in obtaining necessary permits and other authorizations to operate within the existing framework of environmental regulations in this country and abroad. This included work on Superfund and other remediation activities using the Risk Reduction Rules, air quality permitting, Resource and Recovery Act (RCRA) activities, preparing No-Migration Petitions, and expert testimony in public hearings as well as toxic tort and other legal cases. |
|||
| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 1984 to 1991 | Employer: Texas Air Control Board | Title: Senior Staff Toxicologist | Department: Toxicology Division |
Responsibilities:Major duty in this job was to assess the potential for adverse public health and welfare effects from emissions of air pollutants. He conducted extensive independent evaluations of the impacts of potentially-toxic air contaminants on human health and welfare. He participated in public meetings and testified as an expert witness in public hearings concerning air pollution hazards. He also monitored the scientific literature, attended workshops and conferences, and kept the health effects computerized databases current. |
|||
| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 1981 to 1982 | Employer: Saint Edward's University | Title: Environmental Engineer | Department: Air Quality Research Division |
Responsibilities:Worked as a research scientist in the planning, implementation, and evaluation of air pollution control research projects, either as principal investigator or as project officer. |
|||
| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 1976 to 1981 | Employer: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency | Title: Environmental Scientist | Department: Human Health Research Division |
Responsibilities:Held several 20-hour per week appointments in various EPA re¬search laboratories during doctoral program at the University of North Carolina School of Public Health. This work was in the areas of air quality data analysis and in human health effects of exposures to air pollutants at the EPA Human Exposures Laboratory. |
|||
| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 1973 to 1976 | Employer: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency | Title: Environmental Engineer | Department: Wastewater Permitting Division |
Responsibilities:Worked as an environmental engineer in the area of water pollution control, writing water pollution (National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System) permits and compliance schedules for major industrial and Federal facilities. |
|||
| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 1971 to 1973 | Employer: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | Title: Environmental Engineer | Department: Environmental Division |
Responsibilities:Was in charge of planning, designing, and inspecting facilities for water supply, wastewater pollution control, and solid waste management at Federal hatcheries and refuges in an eight-state area. |
|||
Government Experience
| Years | Agency | Role | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Years: 1971 to 1984 | Agency: Various U.S. agencies | Role: Scientist and Engineer | Description: See above. |
Career Accomplishments
| Associations / Societies |
|---|
| Current member of the Society of Toxicology, the American College of Toxicology, the Roundtable of Toxicology Consultants, the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists, and the Air and Waste Management Association (former Vice-Chair of the Air Toxics Committee, International AWMA; Treasurer of Central Texas Chapter of AWMA; Membership Chair of Central Texas AWMA). Professional Activities at Local Level: Former member of the Citizen's Advisory Task Force on Solid Waste Management. Former member of an ad hoc committee on air quality issues in Austin. Member of a steering committee which aided the City in working with the local mass transit authority (Capi¬tal Metro) on environmental compliance. Professional Activities at State Level: Former member of the Human Health Workgroup in the State of Texas Environmental Priorities Project (STEPP). This was the comparative risk project for Texas. Also provided comments for Sunset Review of Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission. Technical Advisor for television shows “CSI: Las Vegas”, and “Bones” (2009 to present). Peer-reviewer for U.S. Environmental Protection Agency “Provisional Toxicity Value” documents and books on toxicology (2011 to present). |
| Licenses / Certifications |
|---|
| Board Certified Toxicologist as a Diplomate of the American Board of Toxicology (D.A.B.T.). First certified in 1995, re-certified in 2000, 2005, 2010, and 2015. Licensed and authorized to practice as a Professional Engineer in Texas, 1992 to present. |
| Professional Appointments |
|---|
| Expert taught several undergraduate courses in the Environmental Studies Program in the Department of Physical and Biological Sciences at Saint Edwards University in Austin, Texas. These courses included Environmental Studies, Toxicology, Industrial Hygiene, and Urban Planning. Adjunct Professor of Environmental Health at the University of Texas School of Public Health at San Antonio, Texas. |
| Awards / Recognition |
|---|
| Dean's List, Rice University Special Achievement Award, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Albuquerque, New Mexico Special Achievement Award, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Dallas, Texas Certificate of Appreciation, City of Austin (for work on the Solid Waste Management Task Force) Outstanding Employee Award, Texas Air Control Board, Austin, Texas Austin City Council Award (for work on Clean Air committee) |
| Publications and Patents Summary |
|---|
| Several publications from Master's, PhD, and Post-doctoral Fellowship programs. Seven publications on human health risk assessment. One book review on microbial toxins. A chapter on carbon monoxide poisonings in a book on carbon monoxide toxicology and a chapter on shale oil toxicity in the International Encyclopedia of Toxicology. Full list of publications is given in my CV. |
Additional Experience
| Expert Witness Experience |
|---|
| Expert has provided expert witness services including the preparing expert reports, affidavits, and “white papers” and providing deposition and trial testimony. He has worked on more than 250 toxic tort cases and regulatory agency Public Hearings. He has successfully defended his qualifications and testimony in several Daubert-type hearings. He has given approximately 50 depositions and testified at trial 10 times. Expert is an independent expert, having provided testimony on behalf of a roughly equal number of plaintiffs and defendants. His expertise is in the area of evaluating the human health effects for exposures to chemicals and microbial agents (mold and bacteria). These exposures have occurred in the community, in occupational settings, and in other indoor environments. In his litigation support work he specializes in addressing both general and specific causation issues. Expert has evaluated the potential toxic effects of the following major types of chemicals: organic chemicals and solvents (for example: benzene, butadiene, chlorinated hydrocarbons, dioxins, formaldehyde, methylene chloride, perchlorates, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, shale oil and gas hydrocarbons, toluene, and xylene), toxic gases (ammonia, carbon monoxide, chlorine, hydrogen sulfide, nitrous oxide, phosgene, and sulfur dioxide), pesticides (chlorpyrifos, malathion, and parathion), petroleum products (gasoline, diesel fuel, jet fuel, shale oil and gas fracking emissions, and lubricating oils), and metals and other inorganic chemicals (arsenic, asbestos, cadmium, chromium, lead, mercury, nickel, silica, welding fumes, zinc, and mineral acids such as hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid, and phosphoric acid). |
| Training / Seminars |
|---|
| Expert has attended more than 130 seminars, conferences, and workshops on human health risk assessment and has made presentations or taught courses at about 30 of those meetings. |
Language Skills
| Language | Proficiency |
|---|---|
| English | Native speaker. |
| French | Intermediate conversational. |
| Spanish | Intermediate conversational. |