Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. Adds Oscar Hernandez, Ph.D., Former Head of EPA's Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics Risk Assessment Division
Washington, D.C. (PRWEB) February 15, 2016 -- Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®) and The Acta Group (Acta®) are pleased to announce that Oscar Hernandez, Ph.D. has joined our teams as Senior Regulatory Chemist. Dr. Hernandez is the former Director of the Risk Assessment Division (RAD) in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT), where he managed a multi-disciplinary science group that provided expert scientific support in the areas of hazard and risk assessment of chemicals being reviewed pursuant to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and other regulatory programs OPPT implements.
"There are few people more expert in regulatory risk assessment than Dr. Hernandez. We are delighted that Dr. Hernandez will be sharing his expertise with our clients, especially as TSCA reform is a real possibility, and EPA will be implementing new procedures to implement the law. Dr. Hernandez will be an exceptional resource for clients addressing chemical assessment and management issues under TSCA and other federal, state, and international chemical control authorities," stated B&C Managing Partner and Acta President Lynn L. Bergeson.
During his 30-year career at EPA, Dr. Hernandez's chemical assessment activities included managing the TSCA Section 8(e) substantial risk reporting program; developing the initial HPV Challenge program and the subsequent development of Hazard Characterization documents; management of U.S. representation to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development's (OECD) Screening Information Data Set (SIDS); the Voluntary Children's Chemical Evaluation program (VCCEP); the Acute Exposure Guideline Levels (AEGL) program, a multi-agency program that generates air concentration levels for use by emergency response teams; Sustainable Futures, a program designed to help manufacturers develop new chemicals that are both economically and environmentally sustainable; assessment support to address national priority chemicals, including formaldehyde, lead, mercury, and perfluorinated chemicals; pioneering efforts in the assessment of nanomaterials; and more recently, the release of risk assessment documents of priority (Work Plan) chemicals.
Prior to his tenure at EPA, Dr. Hernandez worked in the private sector as a consultant, and conducted basic research on biological mechanisms of chemical carcinogenesis at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS). He holds a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Virginia and complemented his education with a Post-doctoral Fellowship at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. Dr. Hernandez continued to pursue his research interests on mechanisms of chemical carcinogenesis at NIEHS, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. He is the author and co-author of numerous scientific publications based on the results of his research activities.
Dr. Hernandez joins a powerful team of EPA alumni at B&C and Acta, including Senior Chemist Richard E. Engler, Ph.D., veteran of OPPT and one of the most widely-recognized experts in the field of green chemistry; Vice President, Policy and Government Affairs James V. Aidala, a former Assistant Administrator of the Office of Prevention, Pesticides, and Toxic Substances (OPPTS) (now the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention); and B&C affiliate Charles M. Auer, a former Director of OPPT with a wide portfolio of expertise, including regulatory compliance requirements for new and existing chemicals, nanoscale materials, and intergeneric microorganisms. This impressive team offers clients an unmatched wealth of experience in TSCA and Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) legislative and regulatory matters.
About Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. -- Located in Washington, D.C., B&C is a law firm focusing on conventional, biobased, and nanoscale industrial, agricultural, and specialty chemical product regulation and approval, and associated business issues, including Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) matters, Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA)/Food Quality Protection Act (FQPA) matters, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) medical device and product approval, registration and data compensation arbitrations, chemical product litigation, and associated business counseling and litigation issues. Additional information is available at http://www.lawbc.com.
About The Acta Group -- Acta, a consulting affiliate of B&C, offers expertise with regulatory programs and chemical product approvals in North America, Europe, South and Central America, Asia, and the Pacific Rim. Acta supports clients' products from concept to approval so they get to market quickly and efficiently. Additional information is available at http://www.actagroup.com.
Heidi Lewis, Bergeson & Campbell, P.C., http://www.lawbc.com, +1 2025573812, [email protected]
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