SIN 1: Environmental planning services and documentation

Sciences International's professional staff has many years of governmental and consulting experience in providing environmental planning services and documentation. Examples of relevant services provided by Sciences include the following:

1. Toxicology, Exposure and Risk Assessment Support
2. Multipathway Risk Assessment
3. Risk Assessment Methodologies
4. Reproductive Health Risks
5. Children's Health Issues
6. Indoor Air Quality and Risks
7. Occupational Health and Risk Assessment
8. Ecological Risk Assessment
9. PCBs, Pesticides, Asbestos, VOCs and Metals
10. Superfund Site Assessment
11. NEPA and Natural Resource Damages
12. Communication of Risk Information

1. Toxicology, Exposure and Risk Assessment Support

• Sciences prepared toxicological profiles for the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.
• Sciences authored toxicological reviews for EPA in support of 19 IRIS chemicals and developed advanced risk assessment methodologies for the EPA.
• Sciences conducted toxicology, chemistry, and environmental reviews of petitions for new indirect food additives for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
• Sciences conducted risk assessments of the six largest DOE former nuclear weapons facilities.
• Sciences conducted a health risk assessment of a DOE gaseous diffusion facility in Ohio.
• Sciences conducted a nationwide assessment of public exposure to sulfur dioxide.
• Sciences’ toxicology staff provides expert witness and consulting services for litigation.
• Sciences’ toxicologists study the potential human health hazards associated with toxic agent exposures resulting from the use of commercial products.
• Sciences’ staff conducts air dispersion modeling to estimate downwind concentrations of environmental substances from a variety of sources, as well as modeling of indoor air pollutants.
• Sciences’ staff conducts site exposure assessments using Superfund guidance and develops advanced exposure models and software.
• Sciences conducts child-specific risk assessments for chemicals and consumer products and has been actively involved in EPA’s Voluntary Children’s Chemical Evaluation Program.
• Sciences is active in risk assessment issues related to asbestos. Our staff has evaluated asbestos risks associated with air releases and soil contamination, as well as risks from consumer products. Our scientists also are active in evaluating epidemiologic data and methods for assessing exposure to asbestos.

2. Multipathway Risk Assessment

• Sciences has completed numerous major multipathway risk assessments (e.g., for a hazardous waste combustion facility in Pennsylvania).
• Sciences conducted numerous multipathway assessments of Superfund sites (e.g., large co-located industrial sites in Idaho) with potential adverse impacts through air, water, and soil pathways.

3. Risk Assessment Methodologies

• For the American Coke and Coal Chemicals Institute, Sciences developed an advanced exposure assessment model that was accepted and used by the EPA for the coke oven residual risk regulation proposed in 2004.
• Sciences managed the development of a new risk assessment method for inhalation of man-made fibers.
• A Sciences’ Vice President developed a probabilistic model to evaluate bystander’s inhalation exposure following fumigant applications. The model is now being used by the EPA to evaluate registration of new fumigant active ingredients and the re-registration of existing fumigant products.
• Sciences’ staff developed biologically-based models for assessing the risks from exposure to coke oven emissions and man-made fiber exposures.
• Sciences applied a specialized dermal absorption model for PCBs in non-aqueous solutions where the failure to correct for the non-aqueous medium can cause as much as a million-fold error in the risk results.

4. Reproductive Health Risks

• Sciences currently manages the Center for the Evaluation of Risks to Human Reproduction for the National Toxicology Program (NTP).
• Sciences’ staff developed over 100 Toxicological Profiles for ATSDR, many of which involved reproductive health risks.
• A Sciences’ Senior Scientist was founding editor of the journal Reproductive Health and is past President of the Teratology Society.
• Sciences’ staff has conducted evaluations of possible contributions of maternal/adult toxicity in laboratory animal studies, and has conducted comprehensive and critical literature reviews in reproductive and developmental toxicology.
• Sciences’ staff provides consultation services in perinatology, andrology, gynecology, and endocrine toxicology.
• Sciences provides substantial litigation support on reproductive health issues.

5. Children's Health Issues

• Sciences led a program entitled "Protecting Children from Environmental Threats: Background, Initiatives, and Response" at an Annual Meeting of the Society for Risk Analysis (SRA)
• Sciences' multipathway risk assessments focus on possible risks to children.
• Sciences has conducted several child-specific risk assessments for common chemicals and consumer products. We also developed the framework for conducting exposure assessments used by the EPA and published in Risk Analysis.

6. Indoor Air Quality and Risks

• Sciences' staff edited and largely wrote the book Risk Assessment and Indoor Air Quality, published in 1998 by CRC Press.
• Sciences' staff managed the assessment and cleanup of mold contaminated buildings.
• Sciences’ staff assesses indoor air exposures to specific agents (e.g., attic insulation and flame retardants).

7. Occupational Health and Risk Assessment

• Sciences routinely evaluates the risks associated with occupational exposures to chemicals such as chromium, asbestos, and pesticides.
• Sciences frequently conducts occupational risk assessments of exposure to both routine and accidental releases from various facilities, applications, and remedial circumstances.
• Sciences’ staff evaluated risks to workers at various waste sites (e.g., chromium, pesticides, fibers, asbestos, and PCBs).

8. Ecological Risk Assessment

• Sciences' staff conducted ecological assessments of two sites in Indiana.
• Sciences conducted an ecological risk assessment at a Superfund site with a focus on ecological exposure through air, soil, surface water, and ground water.

9. PCBs, Pesticides, Asbestos, VOCs and Metals

• Sciences evaluates the risks associated with PCBs and has defended in court clients alleged to have released these chemicals.
• Sciences’ President was the risk assessment expert on a recent National Research Council Committee on Assessment of Risks from Remediation of PCB-Contaminated Sediments.
• Sciences evaluates pesticide toxicity, and conducts risk assessments for pesticides (e.g., chemicals for regulatory review, brominated biocides, triclosan, malathion, and others).
• Sciences recently evaluated the risks associated with the use of phosphine fumigants.
• Sciences' staff developed the Asbestos Management Plan for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority of New York City.
• A Sciences’ Vice President participated in the preparation of the New Jersey Chromium Work Group Report.

10. Superfund Site Assessment

• Sciences has conducted hundreds of ecological and human health risk assessments of Superfund sites.
• Sciences conducts Phase I, Phase II, and baseline risk assessments of Superfund and other hazardous waste sites.

11. NEPA and Natural Resource Damages

• Sciences provides services involving assessment of wetlands, watersheds, and endangered species. Sciences both develops necessary data and evaluates the data.

12. Communications of Risk Information

• Sciences provides communication and training to clients and the public to assist in understanding and properly acting upon risk information.

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