Integrated Disinfection Byproducts Mixtures Research: Assessing Reproductive and Developmental Risks Posed by Complex Mixtures of Disinfection Byproducts

by
Glenn Rice

and  

Particulate Composition Matter(s)

by
Stephen Zemba, Ph.D.

Wednesday, September 22, 2004
4:05-4:30 PM Social gathering, light snacks
4:30–6:30 PM Program

MIT-Building 1 (Pierce Laboratory)
Classroom 350: 33 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge , MA
( please enter through Building 7, 77 Mass Ave)

Integrated Disinfection Byproducts Mixtures Research: Assessing Reproductive and Developmental Risks Posed by Complex Mixtures of Disinfection Byproducts

Summary:

The chemical disinfection of drinking water results in exposures to complex and highly variable chemical mixtures containing disinfection byproducts (DBPs). In some epidemiologic and toxicologic studies, exposures to DBPs have been associated with increased risks of reproductive and developmental effects such as spontaneous abortions. On behalf of his co-authors, Glenn will describe a study being undertaken by the U.S. EPA to evaluate the reproductive and developmental toxicity associated with drinking water exposures to concentrated DBP mixtures. He will present a toxicologically-based risk assessment strategy for identifying the individual components or fractions of a complex mixture that are associated with its toxicity.

Authors

Glenn Rice , National Center for Environmental Assessment, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Cincinnati, OH

Linda K. Teuschler , National Center for Environmental Assessment, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Cincinnati, OH

Thomas F. Speth ,National Risk Management Research Laboratory, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Cincinnati, OH

Susan D. Richardson , National Exposure Research Laboratory, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Athens, GA

Richard J. Miltner , National Risk Management Research Laboratory, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Cincinnati, OH

Kathleen M. Schenck , National Risk Management Research Laboratory, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Cincinnati, OH

Chris Gennings , Department of Biostatistics, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA

E. Sidney Hunter III , National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC

Michael G. Narotsky , National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC

Jane Ellen Simmons , National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC

Biography: In March of 1990, Glenn Rice was appointed to the position of Environmental Health Scientist with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s National Center for Environmental Assessment (NCEA). His research interest is human health risk assessment methods and he is a member of the Chemical Mixtures Risk Assessment Team. He is one of the primary authors of the EPA’s Mercury Study Report to Congress and EPA’s Chemical Mixtures Guidance. Glenn served as the Chapter President of the Ohio Chapter for the Society of Risk Analysis. He holds a Master’s Degree in Microbiology from Miami University, as well as degrees in Biology and Chemistry from Thomas More College. He is currently a doctoral candidate at Harvard University in the Environmental Science and Risk Management Program. Glenn and his wife, Nancy, are usually the proud parents of five children.

Particulate Composition Matter(s)

Stephen Zemba, Ph.D.
Cambridge Environmental, Cambridge , MA

Summary:The U.S. EPA (EPA) has developed the Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR) that proposes to reduce sulfur dioxide (SO 2) and nitrogen oxides (NO x) emissions from fossil fuel power plants. EPA estimates that the rule will save $100 billion per year at an annual cost of $5 billion. Most of the projected benefits result from the avoidance of premature mortalities that EPA believes to be associated with secondary particulate matter formed in the atmosphere from oxidation of the precursor SO 2 and nitrogen oxides NO x emissions. There are significant uncertainties in the dose-response relationships, however, that substantially weaken EPA’s quantitative justification for the CAIR.

Biography: Dr. Zemba has performed original research, published, and consulted in the areas of air pollution phenomenology, fate and transport modeling, and risk assessment. He has investigated such topics as acid rain, dense gas plume dispersion, indoor air dispersion modeling, ocean disposal of carbon dioxide, evaluation of methods to estimate exposure point concentrations, and vapor transport of contaminants in soils. Dr. Zemba currently specializes in performing qualitative and quantitative assessments of health and environmental risks, with emphasis on modeling of pollutant fate and transport. His recent work includes the design and implementation of multi-pathway exposure assessments for air pollution sources and the assessment of contaminated waste disposal sites. Dr. Zemba has taught courses on air quality management and practical applications of air dispersion modeling. Dr. Zemba holds a B.S. from Carnegie-Mellon University, and an M.S. (1985) and Ph.D. (1989) from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.