2012

Mercury and Compact Fluorescent Lightbulbs (CFLs) Paper Accepted for Publication. TERA worked with the New Zealand Ministry of Health on a project regarding the health risks associated with mercury exposure from CFLs.

Nance, P; Patterson, J; Willis, A; Foronda, N; Dourson, M. (2012) Human Health Risks from Mercury Exposure from Broken Compact Fluorescent Lamps. Reg. Tox. Pharm. Volume 62, Issue 3 , April 2012, Pages 542–552.

Michael Dourson participates in group publication on perchlorate. Michael Dourson joined five other esteemed scientists, Gail Charnley, Thomas Cluderay, George Gray, Tom Roberts and Nancy Stoner in publishing a Forum on perchlorate published in The Environmental Forum (www.eli.org).

"The Perchlorate Debate: Is the Chemical Worth Regulating". 2011. The Environmental Forum. Nov/Dec. Vol. 28(6), page 46-53. (pdf)

 

Scientists from P&G and TERA publish TTC paper. The P&G/TERA Team compiled a large database of reproductive and developmental toxicity data. The data were then analyzed to calculate Thresholds of Toxicological Concern (TTC values). The calculated TTC values were compared to existing TTC values. Based on the results of this comparison, we confirmed that the current TTC values can be applied to the reproductive and developmental endpoints.

Laufersweiler, MC; Gadagbui, B; Baskerville-Abraham, IM; Maier, A; Willis, A; Scialli, AR; Carr, GJ; Felter, SP; Blackburn, K; Daston, G. (2012) Correlation of chemical structure with reproductive and developmental toxicity as it relates to the use of the threshold of toxicological concern. Regul Toxicol Pharmacol. 62(1):160-82.

2011

TERA joins the Interstate Technology & Resource Council (ITRC).
TERA has proudly joined the Interstate Technology & Resource Council (ITRC), a state-led coalition working together with industry and stakeholders to achieve regulatory acceptance of environmental technologies. ITRC consists of 50 states, the District of Columbia, multiple federal partners, industry participants, and other stakeholders, cooperating to break down barriers and reduce compliance costs, making it easier to use new technologies, and helping states maximize resources.

http://www.itrcweb.org/

TERA supports the Ontario Ministry of the Environment in Reviewing Science Supporting Air Quality Criteria Development. TERA led a team of scientists supporting work by the Ontario Ministry of the Environment in reviewing the science supporting air quality criteria development.  This work is part of a broader OMOE effort to document its process and enhance clarity and consistency for stakeholders.  The review is also intended to identify opportunities to refine the methods for developing ambient air quality criteria.  As part of this effort, the TERA team conducted a jurisdictional review, considering the approaches used by a variety of jurisdictions in Canada, by US Federal and State agencies, as well as approaches of international and national authoritative bodies.  The aim of the review was to identify approaches, issues, and best practices for addressing issues including:  1) factors affecting the choice of averaging times for sampling and setting of air standards; 2) definitions and applications of chronic, subchronic, and acute exposure and effects; 3) uncertainty factors and the interplay between uncertainty factors and the determination of the point of departure; 4) allocation of exposure across routes and consideration of combined exposures; and 5) linear vs. non-linear / threshold vs. non-threshold dose response.  The jurisdictional review was followed by a workshop where OMOE scientists discussed with each other and with the TERA team issues related to the jurisdictional review.  The workshop participants developed a consensus on best scientific practices to address most of the issues considered, including the development of novel analytical approaches to considering issues such as allocation.

Beyond Science & Decisions: Workshop III. Meeting Report now available

The Workshop III meeting report is now available.  The Report presents key conclusions from the panel discussion on three key themes for Workshop III:  problem formulation, mode of action, and endogenous/background exposures.  It also presents the results of panel discussions on case studies and plans for next steps. 

ITERate Second Review Meeting Success – Manganese Oxide ITER file and report uploaded. On June 29, 2011, the ITERate panel determined that the risk value derived in “Proposal for a revised Reference Concentration (RfC) for manganese based on recent epidemiological studies” by Bailey et al. (2009) should be included on the ITER database under manganese oxide.  The panel conducted a thorough, systematic discussion of the key data and decisions using the charge questions.  Panel members were also asked to note any substantive points or issues to include in the ITER file that they thought would be helpful for the ITER user to be aware of when considering this value. The meeting report and ITERate information can be found at http://www.tera.org/peer/ITERReview/index.html, and the ITER database chemical entry at http://iter.ctcnet.net/publicurl/pub_search_list.cfm

TERA's Next Dose-Response Boot Camp. The next Boot Camp will be held September 19-23, 2011 in Cincinnati, Ohio.  Class is Monday thru Thursday from 8:00am - 5:00 pm, Friday class will conclude around 2 p.m.  Register before August 19th and save $200! This course is a 5-day intensive hands-on training in hazard characterization and dose-response assessment. Beginners through expert toxicological risk assessors will learn advanced methods, as well as enhance their understanding and skills in the basics. Course lectures will be supplemented with daily hands-on application exercises. Interested individuals should have a basic understanding of Toxicology and interest in developing skills in human health risk assessment.  Additional logistic information on the course will be on our website at http://www.tera.org/Global/Bootcamp/index.html within the next few weeks.  On-line registration should is also available at http://www.tera.org/Global/Bootcamp/registration.html. 

TERA works with National Library of Medicine to support development of Chemical Hazards Emergency Medical Management (CHEMM) . TERA scientists and staff provide toxicology support and significant contributions to development of a newly released database, the Chemical Hazards Emergency Medical Management: CHEMM (US Department of Health and Human Services). The CHEMM website, hosted and created by the National Library of Medicine (NLM), provides access to comprehensive sets of information via a user friendly interface. In short, CHEMM is a complete one stop resource containing information on planning, preparing for, and responding to, chemical emergencies such as terrorist attacks, transportation spills, industrial explosions, building collapse, and natural disasters. Anticipated users include first responders, first receivers, other health care providers, and planners. CHEMM allows these users to plan for, respond to, recover from, and mitigate the effects of incidents involving chemicals.

45 Organizations Unite to Develop Path Forward from NAS Science & Decisions. Under the Alliance for Risk Assessment, a collaboration of 45 government, industry, academic, and consulting organizations came together to further the conversation set forth by the NAS (2009) Science & Decisions.  Twenty-five case studies highlighting problem formulation, mode of action, and background/endogenous risk were presented.  Learn more

Look Who's New at TERA. Dr. John Reichard joins TERA as a Staff Toxicologist and holds a dual appointment at the University of Cincinnati in the Department of Environmental Health. Dr. Reichard has doctoral degrees in Molecular Toxicology from the University of Colorado, and Pharmacy from the University of Kentucky. Dr. Reichard’s doctoral project in toxicology focused on the role of oxidative stress in liver disease with an emphasis on the kinetics and metabolism of reactive oxidative intermediates. As part of TERA, Dr. Reichard is contributing his expertise in genomic research to support TERA’s effort to facilitate the application of next generation toxicology methods and approaches in risk assessment

TERA Scientist Selected as Expert for JECFA. Dr. Michael Dourson was selected by the World Health Organization (WHO) to serve as scientific expert for the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA).

TERA authors chapter in book on toxicogenomics in risk assessment. Toxicogenomics (the application of molecular techniques such as genomics and transcriptomics to the study of adverse effects of chemicals on human health and the environment) is a rapidly growing field.  To maximize the utility of these powerful tools, it is important for risk assessors and laboratory researchers to have a common understanding of practical considerations for the application of toxicogenomic data.  TERA scientists authored a chapter providing an overview of the use of toxicogenomics in human health risk assessment in a new book addressing practical considerations related to the use of toxicogenomics in risk assessment. 

Baskerville-Abraham, I., A. Willis, B. Gadagbui, and L.T. Haber.  2011.  Introduction to Human Health Risk Assessment.  In:  Application of Toxicogenomics in Safety Evaluation and Risk Assessment.  John Wiley and Sons Inc., D.R. Boverhof and B. B. Gollapudi, ed.

TERA Collaborations with NIOSH on Methods for Occupational Skin Notations Published. The first article, Dotson et al., presents an overview of a strategy for assignment of hazard-specific skin notations (SK), developed by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). This health hazard characterization strategy relies on multiple SKs capable of delineating systemic (SYS), direct (DIR), and immune-mediated (SEN) adverse effects caused by dermal exposures to chemicals. The second article, Chen et al.,  evaluated the efficacy of a predictive model utilized by the NIOSH to identify dermal hazards based on potential of systemic absorption compared to hazard assignments based on dermal lethal dose 50% (dermal LD50) or logarithm of octanol-water partition coefficient (log KOW). Both articles are published in the Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology and are available online.

G. Scott Dotson, Chen-Peng Chen, Bernard Gadagbui, Andrew Maier, Heinz W. Ahlers and Thomas J. Lentz. The evolution of skin notations for occupational risk assessment: a new NIOSH strategy. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.yrtph.2011.06.002. Available online 20 June 2011.

 

Chen-Peng Chen, Heinz W. Ahlers, G. Scott Dotson, Yi-Chun Lin, Wei-Chen Chang, Andrew Maier, Bernard Gadagbui. Efficacy of predictive modeling as a scientific criterion in dermal hazard identification for assignment of skin notations. http://you.myipcn.org/science/article/pii/S0273230011001322. Available online 20 June 2011.

"Best of Session" Award at AIHce. TERA authors, Andy Maier and Ann Parker, received a “Best of Session” award for their poster “Application of an Updated Methodology for Deriving Immediately Dangerous to Life or Health (IDLH) Values” presented at the American Industrial Hygiene Continuing Education Conference (AIHce) on May 17, 2011.  The poster summarizes the updated methodology for deriving IDLH values using a weight of evidence (WOE) approach, and discusses the challenges encountered when analyzing the data under the new methods.  The new methodology will be published as a Current Intelligence Bulletin (CIB) by National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) once the peer review process is complete.

Dr. Andrew Maier of TERA presents on New Approaches in Occupational Toxicology.  Dr. Andrew Maier gave invited presentations on concepts intended to advance the science on several  challenging issues in occupational risk assessment.  In a session on information resources for industrial hygienists involved in emergency response to chemical incidents he provided a decision framework for identifying and selecting relevant and reliable exposure guidelines.  The concept of cumulative risk has continued to gain emphasis for occupational scenarios, and he presented examples of techniques that may allow for early effect biomarkers to serve as a point of integration for cumulative effects of multiple stresses.  Such techniques may pave the way for use principles of the Exposome concept to be more fully embraced in IH practice.  As part of a special science symposium session on the challenges of assessing health impacts of alternative temporal exposure patterns, Dr. Maier laid out a suite of alternative assessment strategies, including consideration for setting task-based exposure limits.  These presentations were given at sessions of the American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exposition in June 2011 and are available from the AIHA.

Dr. Lynne Haber Participates in International Workshop on the TTC Methodology.  Dr. Haber was one of approximately 80 workshop participants, who included representatives from government agencies, academia, NGOs, and industry.  The workshop, entitled “Threshold of Toxicological Concern:  Scientific Challenges and Approaches” was cosponsored by CEFIC-LRI, ILSI-Europe, the European Partnership for Alternatives to Animal Testing (EPAA), and the International Society of Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology.  The workshop goals included identifying barriers to broader use of TTC and approaches for overcoming the barriers.  The outcome of the workshop will be published in Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology.

TERA Scientists Elected to Leadership Positions.

- Dr. Michael Dourson is the current president of the Mixtures Specialty Section of the Society of Toxicology (SOT).

- Dr. Gadagbui is currently the Vice President of the African Society for Toxicological Sciences, a Councilor for Ohio Valley - Society of Toxicology (OVSOT), and Secretary of Ohio Society for Risk Analysis (OSRA). He was also the first and former President of the Toxicologists of African Origin (TAO), a Specialty Interest Group of Society of Toxicology (SOT).

- Dr. Andrew Maier was elected as the incoming Vice-President of the Occupational and Public Health Specialty Section of the Society of Toxicology.

- Dr. Irene Abraham is currently the President of the Society of Toxicology’s Toxicoloists of African Origin (TAO) - Special Interest Group (SIG).  She also serves on the SIG-Collaboration Group, and serves as a HOST mentor for SOT’s Committee for Diversity Initiatives Undergraduate Program.

- Ms. Patricia Nance was elected to the Alliance for Chemical Safety's Executive Committee as the Communications Chair. She also serves on the Society for Risk Analysis's World Congress organizing committee.

- Dr. Lynne Haber is the chair of the Dose-Response Specialty Group of the Society for Risk Analysis (SRA).

2011 TRAC Conference. Toxicology and Risk Assessment Conference (TRAC) 2011 will be held April 25-28 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Registration is available here.

2010

TERA’s Lynne Haber serves on IRIS peer review panel

A critical aspect of high-quality assessments is thorough peer review.  In support of that goal, Lynne Haber served on the peer review panel for EPA’s IRIS assessment for hexachloroethane.  The consolidated meeting notes can be found at

http://cfpub.epa.gov/ncea/iris_drafts/recordisplay.cfm?deid=223043

TERA’s Andrew Maier to Serve as IPA Fellow with NIOSH

One aspect of TERA’s non-profit mission is to enhance risk assessment science through scientific exchange.  Consistent with this vision Dr. Maier, TERA’s Director, has accepted a position as a Toxicology Fellow via an Interagency Personnel Agreement with the Education and Information Division of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.  Dr. Maier will work at NIOSH on a part-time basis conducting research to further develop methods in occupational risk assessment.

TERA’s Andrew Maier Presents Perspectives on Risk Data Evolutions to NLM SIS Division

Dr. Maier of TERA gave an invited lecture to the staff of the National Library of Medicine Specialized Information Service.  The presentation focused on drivers and transitions in the field of human health risk assessment for environmental chemicals and how these changes in the field may affect information resource use.  See Presentation here.

TERA Published OEL Recommendation for the Butter Flavor - Diacetyl

Diacetyl is a butter flavoring that has been implicated as a cause of lung effects in workers (e.g., popcorn workers lung).  TERA conducted an independent evaluation of the current epidemiology and toxicology literature to explore the feasibility of developing an occupational exposure limit (OEL) for diacetyl.  TERA presented preliminary findings to numerous organizations, including Federal and State agencies, organized labor groups, and researchers to gain feedback on preliminary findings.  The outcome of this outreach effort resulted in an OEL recommendation that has recently been published.

Maier, A.M., M. Kohrman-Vincent, A. Parker, and L.T. Haber. 2010. Evaluation of concentration-response options for diacetyl in support of occupational risk assessment. Reg. Toxicol. and Pharmacol. 58(2): 285-296.

Recognizing a need for improved communication between state risk agencies, TERA and the Alliance for Risk Assessment partnered with Diana Effio of Cleveland State University to reach out to state risk assessors.  A comprehensive  survey of the states discovered a need for a centralized source of state agency contact information.  To this end, the State Environmental Agency Risk Collaboration for Harmonization (SEARCH) database of risk contacts for each state was created.  SEARCH is intended to help the flow of information across organizational boundaries.  Currently in beta stage, SEARCH is available at http://www.allianceforrisk.org/SEARCH/index.html.

TERA participated in a second Alliance for Risk Assessment (ARA) workshop on October 11-13, 2010, in Crystal City, Virginia in tandem with the Federal & State Risk Assessment & Toxicology Committee.   This second meeting in a series was to extend the work of the National Academy of Science, Silver Book, effort on improving risk assessment.  At this workshop many different experts views were shared and debated in a highly collegial fashion, which bodes well for future collaborative work.  TERA’s view of this workshop series, shared by many at the second workshop, is that:

Risk assessment requires multiple and differing expert views in order to chart a credible path forward that adequately considers regulatory impact.  No one type of expertise, or group, can be expected to have all of the answers.  

The NAS (2009) and the NAS 2007 reports had many good ideas; any path forward from these and other texts, such as the IPCS MOA human relevance framework and EPA (2005), however, needs clarification, enhancement and pruning with additional thought, debate, and consensus.

The 38 sponsors and collaborators includes 9 government agencies, 9 industry groups, 7 scientific societies, 8 non-profit organizations/consortia, and 5 consulting groups.  The complete list of sponsors can be found at: http://www.allianceforrisk.org/ARA_Dose-Response_Sponsors.htm.  Results of the workshop are summarized here.

Michael Dourson, President and Senior Toxicologist at TERA, gave a presentation at EPA’s IRIS listening session for its “Draft Toxicological Review of Hexavalent Chromium" on November 18, 2010.  He described the panel of independent experts TERA organized to evaluate the Cr6 research plan of ToxStrategies to develop Mode of Action (MOA) information on this chemical's tumorigenicity [link to presentation].  Also in attendance were scientists from the Environmental Working Group, the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Environmental Protection Agency, ToxStrategies, the American Water Works Association, George Washington University, Michigan State University and Summit Toxicology.  TERA’s independent consultation redirected several aspects of the research plan, some of which are now coming to fruition.  The ongoing research, described by others at the session, will undergo additional independent expert review in order to give EPA scientists additional insights into various approaches for dose response assessment of this environmentally important chemical. See http://www.tera.org/Peer/Chromium/Chromium.htm for information about the TERA organized independent expert review.

Hasegawa, R., H.K. Mutsuko, M.L. Dourson, A. Parker, L.M. Sweeney, A. Nishikawa, M. Yoshida, A. Ono, A. Hirose. 2010. Proposal of new uncertainty factor application to derive tolerable daily intake. Regul. Toxicol. Pharmacol. 2010.  58(2): 237-242.

Dourson, M.  2010.  U-shaped dose-response curves: implications for risk characterization of essential elements and other chemicals.  Dourson M.  J Toxicol Environ Health A. 2010;73(2):181-6.

TERA's Dose-Response Assessment Boot Camp to be held February 7-11, 2011 in Austin, Texas. More details can be found at http://www.tera.org/Global/Bootcamp/index.html.

Cain, W.S., M.L. Dourson, M.J. Kohrman-Vincent, and B.C. Allen.  2010.  Human Chemosensory Perception of Methyl Isothiocyanate: Odor and Chemesthesis.  Reg. Toxicol. and Pharmacol. 58(2):173-180

Dourson, M.L., M.J. Kohrman-Vincent, and B.C. Allen.  2010. Dose response assessment for effects of acute exposure to methyl isothiocyanate (MITC). Reg. Toxicol and Pharmacol. 58(2):181-188

Maier, A.M., M. Kohrman-Vincent, A. Parker, and L.T. Haber. 2010. Evaluation of concentration-response options for diacetyl in support of occupational risk assessment. Reg. Toxicol. and Pharmacol. 58(2): 285-296.

Society of Toxicology Council approves TERA as an Affiliate.  A full description of the process is provided at this link http://www.toxicology.org/ms/affiliates.asp.

Lynne Haber gave a presentation to the Commissioners of the Consumer Product Safety Commission on Risk Assessment and Children’s Issues.  See it here.

Dr. Michael Dourson traveled to Flin Flon, Manitoba in June to present the findings of an expert panel convened by TERA that had reviewed a human health risk assessment (HHRA) for the area surrounding the Hudson Bay Mining and Smelting Company smelter in Flin Flon.  Click here for further details.

Peer Review of the Development Support Document (DSD) on Arsenic Carcinogenic Assessment Prepared by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) - August 2010

Meeting report now available on the Nickel Ion Bioavailability workshop.

Registration for the Toxicology and Risk Assessment Conference is now open.  You can register for this April 26-29, 2010 event here.  For general information about the conference, with a link to registration, go here.

Dr. Irene Abraham was elected as the VP of Toxicologists of African Origin (TAO), a special interest group within the Society of Toxicology (SOT).  Her three-year term that begins May 1, 2010 includes one year of service in each of the following positions, Vice President, President and Past-President. One of the many objectives of TAO is to provide guidance or act as SOT's liaison to other organizations on toxicological issues that are relevant to populations of African origin.

Ms. Patricia Nance and Dr. Andy Maier accepted an award on behalf of TERA for “Excellence in Risk Communication”  from the Alliance for Chemical Safety, for their work on the 2007 Air Toxics Report for the Hamilton County Department of Environmental Services.  Co-authors of the award and co-winners were Deborah Leonard of EQM and Kenneth Edgell of the Hamilton County Department of Environmental Services.  Congratulations Patricia and Andy!

Dr. Michael Dourson, President and founder of TERA is now an SRA fellow.  More details can be found at http://www.sra.org/membership_fellows.php

2009

TERA fellow Dr. Pamela Williams received the Chauncey Starr Distinguished Young Risk Analyst Award from the Society for Risk Analysis.  This award recognizes a member age 40 years or younger for outstanding achievement in science or public policy relating to risk analysis and exceptional promise for continued contributions to risk analysis.

Alliance for Risk Assessment announces "Beyond Science and Decisions: From Problem Formulation to Dose-Response" workshop series. Workshop I scheduled for March 16-18, 2010.

Derived Reference Doses (RfDs) for the Environmental Degradates of the Herbicides Alachlor and Acetochlor:  Results of an Independent Expert Panel Deliberation - submitted for publication to Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology.

Dourson, M.L., M.J. Kohrman-Vincent, B.C. Allen, and W.S. Cain.  2009.  Dose Response Assessment from Effects of Acute Exposure to Methyl Isothiocyanate (MITC).   In Press. http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/authorshome.authors/preprints

Congratulations!  Dr. Michael Dourson, President and founder of Toxicology Excellence for Risk Assessment has been awarded the 2009 International Achievement Award by the International Society of Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology.  The Society annually presents an award to an outstanding individual in recognition of their contributions and achievements in the resolution of public environmental concerns.   ISRTP presents its annual International Achievement Award to an outstanding individual in recognition of their contributions and achievements in advancing the core Mission of the Society --- promoting sound science as the basis for regulations affecting human health and safety and the environment. Dr. Dourson joins an illustrious group of recipients of this award, including  Bob Neal, Jeff Carr, John Higginson, Roger McClellan, Joseph Borzelleca, Curtis Klaassen, Jerry Heckman, Bernie Schwetz, and Mildred S. Christian.

Dr. Lynne Haber attended the Tenth International Conference on Environmental Mutagens in Florence Italy .  As part of a forum on “Mutagenic Mode of action for carcinogens:  How high is the burden of proof?” she presented a case study evaluating the mode of action of acrylamide carcinogenesis, with a focus on tunica vaginalis mesothelioma

An environmental risk assessment training workshop at the 7^th Congress of Toxicology in Developing Countries (CTDC) is being supported by NIEHS. The event will be held September 6-10 in Sun City, South Africa. The workshop was organized by the African Society for Toxicological Sciences (ASTS) (http://africansocietyfortoxicologicalsciences.org/) and co-sponsored by ASTS and Toxicology Excellence for Risk Assessment (TERA) (http://www.tera.org/) .  Dr. Bernard Gadagbui of TERA will be attending the Congress.

Dr. Lynne Haber attended and was a rapporteur for a workshop cosponsored by U.S FDA, USEPA, Health Canada and McLaughlin Centre, University of Ottawa on modes of action for cancer involving interaction with DNA:  Implications for dose-response analysis and research.  The workshop is expected to result in a peer-reviewed publication.

Dr. Michael Dourson has been selected as a Fellow of the Society for Risk Analysis.  This honor reflects the major national and international contributions he has made to the discipline of risk analysis.  The award will be presented at the annual SRA meeting in Baltimore, Maryland at the Society Luncheon on Tuesday, December 8, 2009.

TERA is pleased to announce the availability of the report of a Peer Workshop on Toxicological Assessment and Development of RfDs for Acetanilide Degradates.  The workshop was run under the auspices of the Alliance for Risk Assessment (ARA), for the purpose of developing Reference Doses (RfDs) for the degradates: alachlor t-ESA, alachlor t-OXA, acetochlor t-ESA, and acetochlor  t-OXA.  The meeting, supported by Monsanto and Dow AgroSciences, was held on Monday and Tuesday, May 11 and 12, 2009 at the Northern Kentucky University METS Center located near the Greater Cincinnati International Airport.  The public was invited to attend and provided written comments.  The meeting report and post meeting panel comments are available here <http://www.tera.org/ART/Degradates/index.html> .

Dr. Lynne Haber attended a meeting of the NoMiracle project (NOvel Methods for Integrated Risk Assessment of CumuLative stressors in Europe) in Ravenstein, The Netherlands, and presented on cumulative risk methods in the U.S.

Recent interest in the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) by the U.S. Congress prompted an invitation by congressional staff to comment.  The attached letter to Congress by Michael Dourson shows one way forward.

Toxicology Excellence for Risk Assessment (TERA) is pleased to welcome Lisa M. Sweeney, Ph.D., DABT, CHMM to our growing organization.  Dr. Sweeney has a broad range of experience in the application of toxicology, chemistry, and engineering to problems in the health and environmental sciences.  She has over 15 years experience in risk assessment, pharmacokinetics, and biochemical engineering from a variety of private sector and non-profit backgrounds.  Her experience has focused on the development and refinement of physiologically-based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) models and their application to risk assessment and experimental design.  She is an author of over 30 peer-reviewed publications, with 18 as first author. Dr. Sweeney is a graduate of Case Western Reserve University and Cornell University, where she earned bachelor’s and doctoral degrees, respectively, in chemical engineering.  Dr. Sweeney is certified by the American Board of Toxicology and is a Certified Hazardous Materials Manager.  She has previously served as a councilor for the Society of Toxicology’s Risk Assessment and Biological Modeling specialty sections. 

New TERA Publication - Haber, L.T., A. Maier, O.L. Kroner, and M.J. Kohrman.  2009.  Assessment of Human Relevance and Mode of Action for Tunica Vaginalis Mesotheliomas Resulting from Oral Exposure to Acrylamide.  Regul. Toxicol. Pharmacol.  53(2):  134-149.

NIOSH has approved the “Current Intelligence Bulletin (CIB):  A Strategy for Assigning the New NIOSH Skin Notations for Chemicals” for publication.  Dr. Andrew Maier and Dr. Bernard Gadagbui of TERA are co-authors.

TERA has been engaged as an independent third party to convene a Science Advisory Board (SAB) that will provide guidance on the design and conduct of a series of studies investigating the mode of action by which hexavalent chromium is carcinogenic in rats and mice following drinking water exposure.  The research project is being organized by ToxStrategies and the studies are being conducted by The Hamner Institute.  More information at http://www.tera.org/Peer/Chromium/Chromium.htm.

Dr. Andrew Maier received an appointment as an Adjunct Associate Professor in the Division of Environmental Genetics & Molecular Toxicology, Department of Environmental Health at the University of Cincinnati.  This appointment will foster continued collaborations on research activities with Department faculty and provide additional opportunities for providing course instruction on human health risk assessment principles and methods.

Dr. Lynne Haber attended the NAS Symposium on Toxicity Pathway-Based Risk Assessment on May 11 and 12 and presented a poster at the meeting.

TERA was recognized for its high quality peer review process in a recent EPA Office of Inspector General (OIG)  report on “EPA Can Improve its Process for Establishing Peer Review Panels.”  The report compares the EPA’s National Center for Environmental Assessment (NCEA) peer review process with processes used by other major scientific-based organizations (including NAS, EPA SAB, NIEHS., TERA and ORISE) and recommended areas of improvement to operating guidance.  The report found that NCEA’s “external peer review process incorporates many of the procedures and controls used by other peer review organizations” but that certain areas can be improved.  TERA provided information to the OIG on our peer review policies and procedures and they were particularly interested in our procedures for evaluating potential conflict of interest.  The report noted that “TERA was the only organization we contacted that provides the basis of its conflict of interest decisions to the public.  TERA’s peer review reports identify appearances of potential conflicts of interest that the panelists may have and provide TERA’s reasons for selecting these panelists.” 

- Hays SM, Aylward LL, LaKind JS, Bartels MJ, Barton HA, Boogaard PJ, Brunk C, DiZio S, Dourson M, Goldstein DA, Lipscomb J, Kilpatrick ME, Krewski D, Krishnan K, Nordberg M, Okino M, Tan YM, Viau C, Yager JW., 2008. Guidelines for the derivation of Biomonitoring Equivalents: report from the Biomonitoring Equivalents Expert Workshop. Regul Toxicol Pharmacol. 51(3 Suppl):S4-15.

- Moore MM, Heflich RH, Haber LT, Allen BC, Shipp AM, Kodell RL., 2008. Analysis of in vivo mutation data can inform cancer risk assessment. Regul Toxicol Pharmacol. 51(2):151-61.

Dr. Michael Dourson gave a presentation at the National Library of Medicine on May 6th regarding the relevance of the Hazardous Substances Data Bank to risk assessment. Recommendations included: