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Biosolids Applied to Land: Advancing Standards and Practices (2002)

Chapter: Appendix A Biographical Information on the Committee on Toxicants and Pathogens in Biosolids Applied to Land

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Suggested Citation:"Appendix A Biographical Information on the Committee on Toxicants and Pathogens in Biosolids Applied to Land." National Research Council. 2002. Biosolids Applied to Land: Advancing Standards and Practices. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10426.
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Appendix A
BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION ON THE COMMITTEE ON TOXICANTS AND PATHOGENS IN BIOSOLIDS APPLIED TO LAND

Thomas A.Burke (Chair) is professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management at the Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health, with joint appointments in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences and the School of Medicine’s Department of Oncology. He is also founding codirector of the university’s Risk Sciences and Public Policy Institute. Before joining the university, Dr. Burke was deputy commissioner of health for the State of New Jersey and director of science and research for the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. In New Jersey, he directed pioneering initiatives that influenced the development of national programs, such as Superfund, the Safe Drinking Water Act, and the Toxics Release Inventory. His research interests include environmental epidemiology, the evaluation of community exposures to environmental pollutants, the assessment and communication of environmental risks, and the application of epidemiology and health risk assessment to public policy. Dr. Burke is chair of the advisory board to the directors of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Environmental Health, and is a member of the National Research Council (NRC) Board on Environmental Studies and Toxicology. He received his Ph.D. in epidemiology from the University of Pennsylvania and his M.P.H. from the University of Texas.

Suggested Citation:"Appendix A Biographical Information on the Committee on Toxicants and Pathogens in Biosolids Applied to Land." National Research Council. 2002. Biosolids Applied to Land: Advancing Standards and Practices. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10426.
×

Lawrence R.Curtis is professor and head of the Department of Environmental and Molecular Toxicology at Oregon State University. His research interests are focused on understanding the cellular level processes that determine bioaccumulation of persistent chlorinated hydrocarbons and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and the trophic transfer and ecotoxicology of persistent organic contaminants. Dr. Curtis is on the editorial board of the Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health: Critical Reviews and has served as chair of the Membership Committee of the Society of Toxicology. He received his M.Sc. from the University of South Alabama and his Ph.D. in pharmacology and toxicology from the University of Mississippi Medical Center.

Charles N.Haas is the L.D.Betz Chair Professor of Environmental Engineering at Drexel University. He is widely recognized for his research in the areas of microbial and chemical risk assessment, hazardous waste processing, industrial wastewater treatment, waste recovery, and water and wastewater disinfection processes. Dr. Haas is a fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology and is the founding editor in chief of Quantitative Microbiology. He is also a member of the Council of the Society for Risk Analysis. He received his M.S. in environmental engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology and his Ph.D. from the University of Illinois.

William E.Halperin is professor and chairman of the Department of Preventive Medicine and Community Health at the New Jersey Medical School. Before joining the faculty of the medical school, Dr. Halperin was a senior scientist with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and also held the position of deputy director. His research interests are in occupational medicine, occupational epidemiology, and public-health surveillance. Dr. Halperin was a member of the NRC Committee on Risk Assessment Methodology and currently serves on the NRC Committee on Toxicology and its Subcommittee on Spacecraft Water Exposure Guidelines. He received his M.D., M.P.H., and Dr. P.H. from Harvard University and is certified by the American Board of Preventive Medicine and the American Board of Occupational Medicine.

Ellen Z.Harrison is director of the Cornell Waste Management Institute, a program of the Cornell Center for the Environment that develops solutions for waste-management problems and addresses broader issues of waste generation and composition, waste reduction, risk management, environmental quality, and public decision-making. Ms. Harrison has been involved for many years in the assessment of health and environmental risks from land application of sewage sludges. She has served as cochair of the Northeast Regional

Suggested Citation:"Appendix A Biographical Information on the Committee on Toxicants and Pathogens in Biosolids Applied to Land." National Research Council. 2002. Biosolids Applied to Land: Advancing Standards and Practices. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10426.
×

Research Project on Land Application of Sewage Biosolids since 1997 and is the coauthor of The Case for Caution: Recommendations for Land Application of Sewage Sludges An Appraisal of the U.S. EPA’s Part 503 Sludge Rules. She also served on the council for the town of Ithaca, New York, from 1993 to 1999. Ms. Harrison received her M.S. in geological sciences from Cornell University.

John B.Kaneene is professor of epidemiology and director of the Population Medicine Center at Michigan State University. He also holds professorships in the Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences, the Department of Epidemiology, and the Animal Health Diagnostic Laboratory. His research is focused on the application of epidemiological methods to understand disease dynamics in populations and the use of these methods in designing, implementing, and evaluating prevention and control strategies. Some specific areas of research include the epidemiology of food-borne pathogens (Campylobacter, Salmonella, and Escherichia coli) and their relationships to the development of antimicrobial resistance in animal and human populations, the epidemiology of drug and chemical residues in foods of animal origin and their potential human health risks, and the epidemiology of tuberculosis. Dr. Kaneene was a member of the NRC Committee on Drug Use in Food Animals and currently serves as a member of the NRC Board on Agriculture and Natural Resources, Subcommittee on Food and Health. Dr. Kaneene received his D.V.M. from the University of Khartoum and his M.P.H. and Ph.D. in epidemiology and statistics from the University of Minnesota.

Greg Kester is a civil and environmental engineer at the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, where he serves as the state residuals coordinator overseeing all aspects of Wisconsin’s biosolids program. In that position, he has incorporated all necessary provisions of federal biosolids regulations, set policy for the Wisconsin biosolids program implemented by field engineers, and made determinations on the adequacy of solids-handling design. He developed and maintains a communication network for all state biosolids coordinators. The network provides a forum for the exchange of questions and dialogue on implementation, technical standards, and enforcement strategies. Mr. Kester has also been involved with a Wisconsin workgroup to develop risk-based soil criteria for PCBs. Before Mr. Kester became an environmental engineer, he worked for 10 years as an operator and biosolids-reuse program worker for the Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District. He received his B.S. in civil and environmental engineering from the University of Wisconsin at Madison.

Stephen P.McGrath is a program leader in the Agriculture and Environment Division of the Institute of Arable Crops Research-Rothamsted in the United

Suggested Citation:"Appendix A Biographical Information on the Committee on Toxicants and Pathogens in Biosolids Applied to Land." National Research Council. 2002. Biosolids Applied to Land: Advancing Standards and Practices. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10426.
×

Kingdom and special professor at the School of Life and Environmental Sciences at the University of Nottingham. His research is focused on understanding the source, behavior, fate, and impact of pollutants (particularly heavy metals) in soil and the food chain, biological impacts of waste disposal, phytoremediation, and soil remediation. His research on ecotoxicology of metals and waste disposal led to new national rules in the United Kingdom for sewage-sludge disposal. He is also involved in international projects with the International Atomic Energy Agency and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation on the use of stable isotopes to determine the optimal utilization of wastes. Dr. McGrath received his Ph.D. in physiological ecology from Sheffield University.

Thomas E.McKone is a senior scientist at the Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and is an adjunct professor in the School of Public Health at the University of California at Berkeley. His research interests include the chemical transport and accumulation of toxic chemicals in multiple environmental media (air, water, and soil), the development of multimedia compartment models that can be used in quantitative risk assessments, and human exposure and health risk assessment. He is responsible for the development of CalTOX, a model used by the California Department of Toxic Substances Control to conduct health-risk assessments that address contaminated soils and the contamination of adjacent air, surface water, sediments, and groundwater. Dr. McKone is a past-president of the International Society of Exposure Analysis and has served on several NRC committees. He received his M.S. and Ph.D. in engineering from the University of California at Los Angeles.

Ian L.Pepper is professor and research scientist in the Departments of Soil, Water and Environmental Science and Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Arizona. He also serves as director of the university’s National Science Foundation Water Quality Center. His research interests are in molecular ecology of soil and biosolids, particularly with respect to the risk from pathogens and metals from land-applied biosolids. Dr. Pepper received his M.S. in soil biochemistry and his Ph.D. in soil microbiology from Ohio State University.

Suresh D.Pillai is associate professor of food safety and environmental microbiology in the Poultry Science Department of Texas A&M University. He also serves as associate director of the university’s Institute of Food Science and Engineering. Dr. Pillai’s research interests include the occurrence, fate, transport, and activity of microbial pathogens in natural and developed ecosystems, such as groundwater, surface water, wastewater, bioaerosols, and

Suggested Citation:"Appendix A Biographical Information on the Committee on Toxicants and Pathogens in Biosolids Applied to Land." National Research Council. 2002. Biosolids Applied to Land: Advancing Standards and Practices. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10426.
×

food processing. He is also involved in the development and testing of rapid diagnostic molecular assays for microbial pathogens and the evaluation of public-health risks from microbial pathogens. He received his M.Sc. in industrial microbiology from the University of Madras, India, and his Ph.D. in microbiology and immunology from the University of Arizona.

Frederick G.Pohland is professor and Edward R.Weidelein Chair of Environmental Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh. His research interests include environmental engineering operations and processes; industrial, solid, and hazardous waste management; and environmental impact assessment. He has studied an array of innovative technologies for environmental monitoring and remediation, with special emphasis on groundwater, soils, and surface waters. Dr. Pohland is past president of the American Academy of Environmental Engineers and was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1993. He received his M.S. in sanitary engineering and his Ph.D. in environmental engineering from Purdue University.

Robert S.Reimers is professor in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences at Tulane University. He also holds an adjunct appointment in the university’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. He is an environmental engineer and applied chemist specializing in natural resource management, including the management of residuals and toxic waste. His research interests include biosolids treatment, disinfection, stabilization, and reuse; industrial residual product development; and innovative process development. Dr. Reimers has studied the translocation of chemical pollutants, such as PCBs, in soils and has been involved in studying the prevalence, survival, and control of parasites (e.g., Ascaris eggs) in municipal wastewater biosolids. Dr. Reimers received his M.A. in chemistry from the University of Texas and his Ph.D. in engineering (environmental and water resources) from Vanderbilt University.

Rosalind A.Schoof is a principal at Gradient Corporation, which is a environmental consulting practice. She conducts evaluations of chemical toxicity, health risk assessment for cancer and noncancer end points, and multimedia assessment of exposure to environmental chemicals. Dr. Schoof is particularly interested in the bioavailability of metals (e.g., arsenic, cadmium, and lead) found in soils and has been involved in evaluating exposures at mining, smelting, and pesticide manufacturing sites. She received her Ph.D. in toxicology from the University of Cincinnati and is a diplomate of the American Board of Toxicology.

Suggested Citation:"Appendix A Biographical Information on the Committee on Toxicants and Pathogens in Biosolids Applied to Land." National Research Council. 2002. Biosolids Applied to Land: Advancing Standards and Practices. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10426.
×

Donald L.Sparks is S.Hallock duPont Chair of Environmental Soil Chemistry and Francis Alison professor at the University of Delaware at Newark. He also holds joint faculty appointments in the Departments of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Chemistry and Biochemistry in the College of Marine Studies. Dr. Sparks is internationally recognized for his research in the areas of kinetics of soil chemical processes, surface chemistry of soils and soil components using in situ spectroscopic and microscopic techniques, and the physical chemistry of soil potassium. He is the recipient of many awards and honors, including being named a fellow of the American Society of Agronomy, the Soil Science Society of America, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He is a past-president of the Soil Science Society of America and is currently president-elect of the International Union of Soil Science. Dr. Sparks received his M.S. in soil science from the University of Kentucky and his Ph.D. from the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.

Robert C.Spear is professor of environmental health sciences in the School of Public Health at the University of California at Berkeley. He is also the founding director of the university’s Center for Occupational and Environmental Health. His research interests include the mathematical modeling of toxicological and infectious disease processes and statistical issues in exposure assessment. Dr. Spear has an extensive publication record in this field, spanning farm workers’ exposures to pesticides to strategies for the characterization and control of the exposure of rural populations to parasites in the developing world. He has also served on a number of scientific advisory committees, including the Board of Scientific Councilors of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Dr. Spear received his B.S. and M.S. in mechanical engineering from the University of California at Berkeley, and his Ph.D. in control engineering from Cambridge University.

Suggested Citation:"Appendix A Biographical Information on the Committee on Toxicants and Pathogens in Biosolids Applied to Land." National Research Council. 2002. Biosolids Applied to Land: Advancing Standards and Practices. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10426.
×
Page 338
Suggested Citation:"Appendix A Biographical Information on the Committee on Toxicants and Pathogens in Biosolids Applied to Land." National Research Council. 2002. Biosolids Applied to Land: Advancing Standards and Practices. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10426.
×
Page 339
Suggested Citation:"Appendix A Biographical Information on the Committee on Toxicants and Pathogens in Biosolids Applied to Land." National Research Council. 2002. Biosolids Applied to Land: Advancing Standards and Practices. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10426.
×
Page 340
Suggested Citation:"Appendix A Biographical Information on the Committee on Toxicants and Pathogens in Biosolids Applied to Land." National Research Council. 2002. Biosolids Applied to Land: Advancing Standards and Practices. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10426.
×
Page 341
Suggested Citation:"Appendix A Biographical Information on the Committee on Toxicants and Pathogens in Biosolids Applied to Land." National Research Council. 2002. Biosolids Applied to Land: Advancing Standards and Practices. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10426.
×
Page 342
Suggested Citation:"Appendix A Biographical Information on the Committee on Toxicants and Pathogens in Biosolids Applied to Land." National Research Council. 2002. Biosolids Applied to Land: Advancing Standards and Practices. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10426.
×
Page 343
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The 1993 regulation (Part 503 Rule) governing the land application of biosolids was established to protect public health and the environment from reasonably anticipated adverse effects. Included in the regulation are chemical pollutant limits, operational standards designed to reduce pathogens and the attraction of disease vectors, and management practices. This report from the Board on Environmental Studies and Toxicology evaluates the technical methods and approaches used by EPA to establish those standards and practices, focusing specifically on human health protection. The report examines improvements in risk-assessment practices and advances in the scientific database since promulgation of the regulation, and makes recommendations for addressing public health concerns, uncertainties, and data gaps about the technical basis of the biosolids standards.

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