Brent D. Kerger, Ph.D., DABT Joins ChemRisk LLC

SAN FRANCISCO, March 1, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- ChemRisk LLC, a global risk assessment company, announced today that Dr. Brent D. Kerger, a board-certified toxicologist with 25 years of experience in assisting clients with environmental or medical toxicology issues, has joined the firm. His extensive experience in the design and implementation of studies on human exposure, toxicokinetics, and disease causation analysis will position ChemRisk to further expand its growing portfolio of services.

Dennis Paustenbach, ChemRisk's president and chief executive officer, said Kerger will assist ChemRisk in all its areas of expertise, with a particular focus on scientific research and strategies for addressing complex issues in environmental and toxic tort litigation.

Kerger has been named Principal Health Scientist in the San Francisco office, and will serve ChemRisk's clients there, while also spending considerable time in the firm's Orange County office.  He brings the firm his extensive experience in the investigation and evidence-based analysis of legal or regulatory issues regarding risk assessment and chemical causation of diseases in humans.  He is an internationally known toxicology expert with a strong publication record on dioxins, chlorinated solvents, chromium, asbestos, benzene, and other chemicals.

Dr. Kerger has designed and implemented a variety of field studies, laboratory studies, and clinical studies aimed at characterizing chemical exposure and toxicity. He has written several major documents addressing controversial legal and regulatory policy issues, and has published more than 50 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters on chemical toxicity, physiologically-based pharmacokinetic modeling, Monte Carlo uncertainty analysis, and innovative exposure and risk assessment techniques. His recent research efforts have included seminal reports in collaboration with international scientists and clinicians on dioxin toxicokinetics in children exposed to dioxin in the 1976 Seveso trichlorophenol reactor explosion in Italy and in the PCB-tainted rice oil poisoning incidents in Japan and Taiwan.

"Brent is one of the most talented toxicologists and testifying experts in the United States with considerable experience managing large and complex projects in regulatory and litigation settings. He is a world-class thinker and strategist, and has been an affiliated researcher of the firm for 14 years, having published several important research manuscripts with other ChemRisk co-authors," Paustenbach said.

According to Kerger, the strategic fit is perfect. He notes, "My career goal has been to bring clients high quality, clearly communicated work products that squarely address the scientific questions at hand.  ChemRisk has always been the innovative leader and think tank in toxicology consulting, and I am excited to provide our clients with access to the cumulative talents of the team."

About ChemRisk

ChemRisk LLC is a scientific consulting firm committed to helping clients around the globe develop sustainable solutions to a growing number of health and safety concerns. Specifically, the company specializes in pioneering risk assessment methods to characterize and understand complex exposures involving chemicals, pharmaceuticals, or radionuclides in a variety of potentially contaminated media. It leads the way in working with the government, industry and academia to provide objective, science-based solutions to difficult challenges. Several ChemRisk Centers of Excellence, in fact, are designed to foster collaboration and accelerate innovation.

ChemRisk has more than 60 scientists with backgrounds in toxicology, industrial hygiene, epidemiology, ecotoxicology, environmental sciences, medicine, statistical analysis, and risk assessment. It has six offices serving clients in multiple countries, across dozens of markets and industries.

SOURCE ChemRisk LLC