Dr. Wayne Roth-Nelson was a leading environmental and occupational health researcher at Battelle Institute and Science Applications. His doctoral work was at the University of London. He is a Fellow of the American College of Forensic Examiners. His forensic career spans 14 years, 26 states, and 49 cases of civil litigation for both plaintiffs and defendants.
Dr. Roth-Nelson was founder of Risk Science & Law Specialty Group, Society for Risk Analysis. He serves nationwide as toxic tort consultant and expert witness while developing quantitative evidence of toxic exposures, absorbed doses, and increased health risks or disease causation. He works independently or teams with colleagues to apply scientific disciplines needed for effective case litigation.
Dr. Roth-Nelson's credentials include: Master of Science in Technology of Management (Environmental Health), The American University (1974); Doctor of Philosophy (Environmental Science and Policy), The London School of Economics (1986); Diplomate, American Board of Forensic Examiners (Toxicology Division), 1996-2008; and Fellow, Institute of Forensic Science, American College of Forensic Examiners, 2006-2008.
FORENSIC SCIENCE CAREER. Dr. Roth-Nelson provided testimony by deposition and in state and federal trial courts. Included were more than two dozen cases located in the Mountain West (Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Oregon, Wyoming); in the Mid-West and Plains (Arkansas, Indiana, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Wisconsin); and in the Southeast (Alabama, Florida, Maryland, Mississippi, West Virginia).
Half of all cases involved Sick Buildings with workers, shoppers and residents exposed to molds and bacteria, paint and metal fumes, solvent and fuel vapors, and combustion gases. Four cases involved large industrial or agricultural operations (petroleum refinery, ball bearing manufacturing, aerial pesticide spraying, ethanol production from corn) that affected entire communities.
Contaminated media included indoor and outdoor air, ground and surface water, soils and landfills, aquifers and drinking water, and hazardous waste.
R & D SCIENCE CAREER. Dr. Roth-Nelson worked over three decades consulting in the R & D community in the environmental health sciences, health risk assessment, hazardous waste management, and regulatory compliance. Organizations included Westinghouse Urban Systems, GE TEMPO / Center for Advanced Studies, TRW / DeLeuw Cather, Dynamac / Enviro Control, Battelle Memorial Institute, and Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC). Assignments included Manager, Health Risk Assessment / Deputy Program Manager at Battelle Institute and Technical Director / Program Manager at SAIC Division of Environmental Remediation.
Client organizations included Congressional Office of Technology Assessment, Environmental Protection Agency, Air Force Occupational and Environmental Health Laboratories, and Department of Energy Environmental Restoration Division. Appointed to Risk Assessment Committee, Westinghouse-Hanford Nuclear Installation.
Investigated health risks and health effects at public utility, transportation, mining, agricultural, energy, industrial and military operations and their surrounding communities in California, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and Washington.
TOXIC AGENT EXPERIENCE: Hydrocarbon Fuels (gasoline, kerosene, diesel fuel, propane, natural gas); Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs, e.g., coal tars) and Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs, e.g., arochlors); Organic Solvents (Stoddard solvent, mineral spirits, benzene, toluene, xylenes, trichloroethylene, vinyl chloride, methylene chloride, ethylene glycol, hexane); Gases and Fumes (carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, ammonia, chlorine, arsine, hydrazine, tear gas); Particulates and Aerosols (asbestos, smoke, dust, acid mist, spray paint); Heavy Metals (lead, cadmium, mercury, arsenic, hexavalent chromium); Acids and Alkalis (sulfuric and hydrochloric acids, sodium hydroxide); Radionuclides (radon, radium, uranium, thorium, strontium, plutonium); Organophosphate and Carbamate Pesticides (malathion, chlordane, chlorpyrifos, dimethoate, carbofuran); Paints and Coatings (latex, acrylic polyurethane, isocyanates); Molds/Fungi (Stachybotrys, Chaetomium, Aspergillus, Penicillium, Cladosporium, Alternaria, Fusarium, Trichoderma, Memnoniella, and Ulocladium); Bacteria (Bacillus, Pseudomonas).
PROFESSIONAL CONTRIBUTIONS. Dr. Roth-Nelson was Founder and first elected Chair of the Specialty Group for Risk Science and Law of the Society for Risk Analysis (SRA). Among other goals, the Specialty Group explores the interface between scientific and legal standards for evidence of inferred disease causation or increased health risk from exposure to toxic chemicals and biological toxins. He was peer reviewer and referee for scientific journals and editor of SRA's Online Casebook: Risk-Based Case Law Analysis and Legal Commentary. He authored dozens of peer-reviewed journal articles, technical handbooks, and government documents.
Dr. Roth-Nelson authored "Explaining Toxic Chemical Risk in the Courtroom: Authority, Storytelling, and Science," Chapter 13, Expert Witnessing: Explaining and Understanding Science (CRC Press, 1999). Also: "Risk Evidence in Toxic Torts" in The Environmental Lawyer 2(2):404-443 (American Bar Association, 1996.)
His well-known ABA journal article is cited in The Use of Toxicology in Tort Litigation (ABA, 2004); The Judge's Role As Gatekeeper (Harvard Law School, 1999); and Castillo v. E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co. (Supreme Court, State of Florida, SC00-490).
See Dr. Roth-Nelson's Web Site for many more details:
http://www.ToxicTortScience.com
[See link to "Experts" for Dr. Roth-Nelson's CV which includes details of many Toxic Tort Case Reports.]
[See link to "Areas of Expertise" for listings of 49 plaintiff and defense cases.]
