News & Views

News:

Dr. Borgert was a discussant at a two-day public workshop entitled “Advancing Research on Mixtures: New Perspectives and Approaches for Predicting Adverse Human Health Effects.” The workshop was sponsored by The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) Divisions of National Toxicology Program (DNTP), Extramural Research and Training (DERT), and Intramural Research (DIR), September 26-27, 2011 in Research Triangle Park, NC.

Dr. Borgert Co-Chaired, “AM08—Toxicology and Risk Assessment of Chemical Mixtures” a Continuing Education program, at the 50th Annual meeting of the Society of Toxicology, Washington, D.C., March 6, 2011. Dr. Borgert presented “The Intersection of Design and Interpretation of Mixtures Data” in this session. Dr. Borgert also presented a poster, “The Human Relevant Potency Threshold: Uncertainty Analysis and Human Calibration for Risk Assessment.”

Dr. Borgert participated in RISK21 Workshop: Realizing the Future of Risk Assessment, Washington, DC, January 11, 2011, sponsored by the ILSI Health and Environmental Sciences Institute. ILSI Risk 21 Cumulative Risk Panel.

Recent Presentations:

Dr. Borgert presented “Hypothesis-driven weight of evidence framework for evaluating data in the context of the U.S. EPA’s Endocrine Disruptor Screening and Testing Program. Endocrine Disruptors, 2nd International Conference. Die Akademie Fresenius, Frankfurt, Germany, June 7-8, 2011.

Dr. Borgert presented “What is “Scientific Quality” and How Do We Judge It?” Plenary Lecture, CropLife America Science Forum: Judging the Quality of Scientific Work. Washington, DC. May 13, 2011.

Dr. Borgert presented “The Intersection of Design and Interpretation of Mixtures Data” at the 50th Annual meeting of the Society of Toxicology, Washington, DC, March 6, 2011.

Dr. Borgert presented “Setting the Scene for the Mixtures Discussion” at the December 16, 2010 workshop sponsored by the European Chemical Industry Council (Cefic), Brussels, Belgium.

Dr. Borgert chaired the “Challenges Ahead” session and presented on “Weight of Evidence” at the 2010 Endocrine Workshop, EDSP Compliance, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, December 13, 2010. Read More

Dr. Borgert participated as a discussant in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) workshop, “Cumulative Risk Assessment of Phthalates,” December 8-9, 2010, Crystal City, Arlington, Virginia.

“Challenge: Coming to the Table on Food Safety (Bisphenol A and Beyond)”, November 1, 2010, Washington, D.C. Dr. Borgert was invited to speak as an expert at the Science & Society: Global Challenges Discussion Series Sponsored by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Chemical Society, and the Georgetown University Program on Science in the Public Interest. Moderated by John Hamilton of National Public Radio, the video recording can be viewed at the American Chemical Society website.

Risk Assessment in the 21st Century: Cumulative Risk Sub-Team Brussels, Belgium, October 21-22, 2010. Dr. Borgert presented “Uncertainty vs Certainty in Cumulative Toxicology.” ILSI meeting.

Other News:

Dr. Borgert was invited to testify before Congress on February 25, 2010 at the House Committee on Energy and Environment hearing, “Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals in Drinking Water: Risks to Human Health and Environment.”  This  hearing examined the science and regulation of endocrine disruptors that may be found in sources of drinking water. Congress may require EPA to expand its Endocrine Screening Program beyond the initial 67 chemicals ordered in 2009/2010 to include pharmaceuticals, personal care products, and other chemicals that have been detected in trace amounts in ground water. Because the Endocrine Screening Program is not fully validated, Dr. Borgert recommended that Congress provide EPA the time and resources to strengthen the science before screening hundreds of additional chemicals. He also informed the Committee of substantial scientific evidence to dispel a number of misconceptions about the Endocrine Screening Program. He explained that the Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program (EDSP) is not designed to identify endocrine disruptors, but rather to discriminate between chemicals that need definitive testing versus those that do not, and that to date, there are no credible public health risks from typical exposures to claimed endocrine disruptors, including chemicals in the water supply.

Dr. Borgert was President of the International Society of Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology in 2007-2008, and he currently serves on the Society’s Governing Council. He was the Society’s Treasurer 2003-2006.

Endocrine Disruption Issue & Involvement:

Dr. Borgert served on the U.S.EPA Endocrine Disruptor Screening and Testing Advisory Committee (EDSTAC) as the general representative for Small Business stakeholders. EDSTAC was a Federal Advisory Committee to the U.S.EPA commissioned to develop recommendations for screening pesticides, industrial and agricultural chemicals pursuant to requirements of the 1996 Food Quality Protection Act and 1996 Amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act.  In addition to serving on the plenary committee, he also served on the Screening and Testing Workgroup of the EDSTAC and Co-chaired the Communication and Outreach Workgroup.  He drafted a considerable section of the EDSTAC report on validation of the screening and testing batteries.

In 1998, APT developed detailed protocols for the EDSTAC-recommended assays and used them to conduct a cost estimate survey that is published in Appendix S of the EDSTAC Final Report.  The survey, including complete protocols, is in the Federal Docket for the EDSTAC. APT updated the survey in 2003.

Dr. Borgert continues to participate in inter-industry groups addressing the validation and standardization of endocrine screening and testing assays pursuant to EDSTAC, and in 2002, served on the OECD Peer-Review Panel for Validation of the Uterotrophic Assay.

At the 2006 Chemical Producers and Distributors Association (CPDA) meeting, Dr. Borgert presented his perspectives on the status of the Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program (EDSP), including Validation of Tier 1 Screens and Tier 2 Tests, and Priority Setting of pesticide ingredients for initial screening.  This presentation was followed by an interview published in the Pesticide.net Insider eJournal Volume 3,
Issue 5.