Dr. Leonard Ritter, Chair
Dr. Ritter holds a PhD in biochemistry from Queen's University and has been a tenured professor of toxicology in the School of Environmental Sciences at the University of Guelph since 1993. Prior to his appointment at the University of Guelph, Dr. Ritter held various positions at Health Canada, including Director of the Bureau of Veterinary Drugs, Chief of the Product Safety Division and Chief of the Pesticides Division. Since joining the University of Guelph, he has led the Canadian Network of Toxicology Centres and coordinated a national metals research network. In 2002, Dr. Ritter was elected a Fellow of the Academy of Toxicological Sciences.
Dr. Ritter is an internationally recognized expert in toxicology who has received numerous awards for his work, including an award from the World Health Organization in 2006. He is well published and sought after for his work on pesticides and herbicides. He has experience participating in or chairing panels related to the toxicology of a wide range of potentially toxic chemicals, including pesticides and herbicides, at both the national and international levels. Most recently, Dr. Ritter served as Chair of the Council of Canadian Academies Expert Panel on the Integrated Testing of Pesticides, evaluating the testing strategies used to assess and regulate the risk of pesticides to humans and the environment.
In 2006 and 2007, Dr. Ritter worked extensively on the Canadian government's investigation into the use of 2,4,5-T herbicide at Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Gagetown. He chaired review panels on the history and science of herbicide use and on human health risk assessment for exposure to herbicides. He was also a key member of a third panel that carried out a toxicological risk assessment on potential occupational and related exposures associated with herbicide spraying at CFB Gagetown. Dr. Ritter has worked with the Canadian government on a number of scientific reviews, including extensive work with Health Canada's Pest Management Regulatory Agency.
Selected highlights of Dr. Ritter's experience
- Chair - Ad Hoc Peer Review Panel. Human Health Risk Assessment for Current Exposures to Herbicides and Herbicide Related Chemicals at CFB Gagetown (2006)
- Chair - Ad Hoc Peer Review Panel. Department of National Defence. The History and Science of Herbicide Use at CFB Gagetown from 1952 to present (2006)
- Chair - Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Science Advisory Board (2004-2008)
- Chair - Health Canada Lindane Board of Review (2004/05)
- Chair - Health Canada Pest Management Regulatory Agency, 2,4-D Science Advisory Panel (2003/04)
- Invited Expert and Section Report Principle Author - The Walkerton Commission of Inquiry on Drinking Water Quality (2001)
- Expert Advisor - World Health Organization (1992 - present)
- Chair, Council of Canadian Academies Expert Panel on the Integrated Toxicity Testing of Pesticides (2009-2011)
Dr. Aaron Blair
Dr. Aaron Blair is a Scientist Emeritus at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), National Institutes of Health in the United States. He served as Chief of the Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology Branch at the NCI for more than 25 years. He retired in 2007, but continues his research activities through his Emeritus position. He served as the Interim Director for the launch of the Occupational Cancer Research Centre in Toronto in 2009 and 2010.
Dr. Blair has extensive experience in the conduct and evaluation of studies designed to examine the risk of cancer and other diseases from occupational and environmental exposures. He conducted major epidemiologic investigations to evaluate cancer among workers exposed to various potential hazards, including formaldehyde, acrylonitrile, various organic solvents, phenol, asbestos, and silica. In addition, pesticides have been a major focus of his research. To evaluate cancer risks from pesticides, he has conducted case-control studies of lymphatic and hematopoietic cancers, cohort studies of commercial pesticide applicators, and a long-term prospective study (the Agricultural Health Study) of farmers and commercial pesticide applicators in Iowa and North Carolina.
Dr. Blair has authored or co-authored more than 350 publications. He has served on and/or chaired review groups for many agencies and institutions, including the International Agency for Research on Cancer, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. National Toxicology Program, and Cancer Care Ontario.
Dr. Blair holds a PhD in genetics from North Carolina State University (1970) and a MPH in epidemiology from the University of North Carolina (1976). He is an elected Fellow in the American College of Epidemiology, the Ramazzini Collegium, the American Epidemiological Society, and Epidemiology in Occupational Health. He has received numerous awards, including the NIH Director's Award (1987), PHS Special Recognition Award (1995), H.A. Tyroler Distinguished Alumni Award from the Department of Epidemiology at the University of North Carolina (1997), Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics Exemplary Service Award (2002), International Society for Environmental Epidemiology John Goldsmith Award for Outstanding Contributions to Environmental Epidemiology (2004), National Institute for Farm Safety Research Award (2006), Harriet Barr Distinguished Alumnus Award from the Public Health Alumni Association of the University of North Carolina School of Public Health (2007), U.S. EPA Office of Research and Development Bronze Medal Award for Outstanding Exposure Research Support to the Interagency Agricultural Health Study (2010), and the NIH Merit Award for Contributions to the Gulf Oil Spill Response and Developing the Gulf Oil Spill Research Program (2010).
Elliot A. Sigal
Elliot Sigal is an Executive Vice-President and Senior Scientist at Intrinsik Environmental Sciences Inc. Mr. Sigal has led risk assessment teams in the determination of the potential for exposure of and risk to receptors associated with complex contaminated sites, mining/smelter facilities, military base closures, underground storage tanks, incinerator/WTE emissions, landfill sites and industrial processes. He has overseen and contributed to hundreds of risk assessments, from large-scale community-based assessments to small brownfield redevelopment projects. Mr. Sigal's role in these projects has included project management, problem formulation, exposure pathway analysis, hazard assessment, uncertainty analysis, risk characterization and public consultation. In addition, he has conducted interpretive reviews of toxicology and mechanistic databases for a variety of chemicals, including herbicides (e.g., 2,4-D, 2,4,5-T, glyphosate), metals (e.g., arsenic, nickel), chlorinated organics (e.g., vinyl chloride, PCBs, dioxins and furans), volatile organic compounds (e.g., benzene, toluene), petroleum hydrocarbons, combustion gases (NOX, SOX), and PAHs (e.g., benzo[a]pyrene).
Mr. Sigal led the human health risk assessment conducted to estimate potential exposures, characterize potential health risks, and determine, in an objective manner, whether the use of Agent Orange and Agent Purple during June 1966 and 1967, in addition to the use of other herbicides sprayed at Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Gagetown between 1952 and the present, were associated with potential human health risks. The risk assessment was part of the weight-of-evidence needed to identify groups of individuals who may have been adversely affected by historical exposures. By identifying the potential for elevated human health risks for specific groups of individuals and/or activities, such as those directly involved with herbicide applications (mixers and loaders, applicators, flaggers) and post application activities (brush clearing and scouting, soon after application), the risk assessment helped to guide future study, such as targeted epidemiological evaluations, by isolating those activities and/or receptor groups of particular interest.
Mr. Sigal graduated with an Honours B.Sc. in Toxicology from the University of Toronto in 1988 and has more than 20 years of experience in risk assessment and toxicology, specializing in human-health-related issues. He is a full member of the Society of Toxicology and qualifies as a QPRA (Qualified Person - Risk Assessment) under the Province of Ontario's Record of Site Condition Regulation (O. Reg. 153/04).
Mr. Sigal has conducted peer reviews on many risk assessments in jurisdictions across Canada and the United States, including conducting reviews of risk assessments on behalf of the Ontario Ministry of the Environment since 1997. Since 2004, he has served as project manager and senior toxicologist/risk assessor for Intrinsik's Expert Advice contract with Health Canada.
Dr. Jeanne Mager Stellman
Dr. Jeanne Mager Stellman is Professor Emerita and Special Lecturer at the Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University in New York City where she was Deputy Chair of Health Policy and Management and Director of the General Public Health program, and where she has held an appointment for more than 30 years. She is also currently Professor of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences at SUNY-Downstate Medical Center in New York.
Dr. Stellman has extensive experience in a broad range of environmental and occupational health areas, with a particular interest in the evaluation of exposure to herbicides. She served as the Principal Investigator for a large U.S. National Academy of Sciences project to develop exposure evaluation methodologies for epidemiological studies of Agent Orange and other military herbicides. Her methodologies were strongly endorsed by the U.S. Institute of Medicine. Stellman's methods have been widely cited and applied and her publications include a cover article in the journal Nature. She is currently developing a scholarly website on military herbicides under the sponsorship of the U.S. National Library of Medicine and is collaborating with research groups around the world who are applying her exposure methodologies. Stellman's work on military herbicides was featured at a Science Museum of London exhibition and was chosen as among 100 of the most important studies by Discover magazine for 2003.
In the broader area of environmental and occupational health, Dr. Stellman is the editor of the 4th Edition of the Encyclopaedia of Occupational Health and Safety, published by the United Nation's International Labour Organisation, an international standard reference to which many Canadian researchers and practitioners have contributed. She has recently developed a web-based version of the Encyclopaedia that will serve as a worldwide portal to occupational health and safety, as the Encyclopaedia contents are continually updated. Dr. Stellman has also carried out research and writings on issues related to women's occupational health. Her papers have been indexed and archived at the Radcliffe Institute of Advanced Study at Harvard University. She continues to work actively in this area, including participating in the Canada-U.S.A. Gender and Health Research Group.
Dr. Stellman holds a bachelor degree in chemistry from City College of New York and a doctorate in physical chemistry from the City University of New York. She has been the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship for studying how to bridge toxicology and chemistry, a Preventive Oncology Academic Award from the U.S. National Cancer Institute, and numerous other awards and recognitions. She has served on a wide variety of Canadian and American consultations and review panels, as well as consultations to the World Health Organization. She is the author of a large number of books, monographs, chapters and peer-reviewed publications and has been awarded a large number of peer-reviewed research grants over the course of her career.
Dr. Nancy Kerkvliet
Dr. Nancy Kerkvliet is a Professor of Toxicology in the Department of Environmental and Molecular Toxicology and Deputy Director of the Environmental Health Sciences Center at Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon.
Dr. Kerkvliet has extensive experience in the conduct and evaluation of studies related to toxicology and health effects of environmental contaminants with specific expertise in the area of dioxins and dioxin-like chemicals. Dr. Kerkvliet's research interests are focused on the immunotoxicity of dioxins and dioxin-like chemicals. With long-term funding from the U. S. National Institutes of Health, her laboratory has examined the role of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AKA the dioxin receptor) in mediating the immunosuppressive effects of dioxin exposure. Dr. Kerkvliet's research has been recognized by several awards including the Vos Career Achievement Award from the Society of Toxicology.
Dr. Kerkvliet holds a bachelor degree in biology and chemistry from University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire, and MS and PhD degrees in Toxicology from Oregon State University. Dr. Kerkvliet has served on numerous national committee s and review panels in the U.S., including the National Toxicology Program Board of Scientific Counselors, the Committee on Toxicology (COT), National Research Council, and the National Academies Institute of Medicine, Committee to Review the Health Effects in Vietnam Veterans of Exposure to Herbicides.
