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Overview

Risk assessments and related analyses are a critical component of many environmental regulatory decisions. The results of such analyses help determine the need for and nature of remedial actions at hazardous waste sites, support the derivation of cleanup levels, and assist in permitting new facilities and in developing closure plans for solid waste management units and facilities that are going out of service. At Exponent, our toxicologists perform and critique multipathway risk assessments and derive risk-based remediation goals for hazardous waste sites and facilities under a variety of federal and state regulatory frameworks.

Our services include:

Comprehensive multipathway risk assessments
Screening-level risk evaluations
Derivation of risk-based cleanup levels
Deterministic and probabilistic exposure assessments
Toxicity assessments and data evaluation
Risk assessment strategy development and review
Research and development to address sources of uncertainty
Mercury Discharge: Impact of New Regulations (PDF format)
Bioavailability studies (PDF format)
Fish consumption surveys and studies
Toxic tort, class action, and general litigation support
Seminars and presentations

We also perform these services for clients acting voluntarily to address sites not governed by any regulatory mandate. These risk analyses can be a powerful tool in assessing potential environmental liabilities and managing an inventory of sites. Our risk assessors have applied their expertise to perform site-specific analyses and assist our clients in developing effective strategies for managing more than 100 sites.

Frequently, this work is done in concert with evaluations performed by other Exponent scientists and engineers. These analyses support assessment of appropriate and cost-effective remedial strategies for specific sites and provide critical documentation for site administrative records. Much of this work is conducted under legal review in anticipation of litigation or encompasses expert support during litigation.

In addition to providing risk assessment support for specific sites, Exponent staff identify pivotal sources of uncertainty that affect risk estimates and help design and conduct research to support more realistic assessments of risk. Exponent scientists are leaders in ongoing research that includes determining the bioavailability of chemicals in soil, assessing fish consumption, evaluating endocrine disrupting chemicals, and characterizing background sources of arsenic exposure (including arsenic in food). We also advise clients on risk assessment and toxicity issues related to product stewardship programs and needs to harmonize toxicity and risk assessment methods worldwide. We effectively communicate our approaches and results to industry, regulatory personnel, and the public. Our presentations at national and international meetings, and our published research papers and articles in peer-reviewed literature, cover many of these issues. These efforts have earned us a well-established scientific reputation and lend greater credibility to our assessments.

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