EPA appoints new head of panel providing independent scientific advice on regulations

Administrator Stephen L. Johnson today announced the appointment of Dr. Deborah Swackhamer, an internationally recognized expert on toxic chemicals in freshwater lakes and rivers, as chair of the EPA Science Advisory Board (SAB).

Dr. Swackhamer, Professor of Environmental Health Sciences and Co-Director of the Water Resources Center at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis-St. Paul, brings to the job extensive research and experience applying science to environmental protection. Her research interests focus on chemical and biological processes affecting the behavior and fate of toxic organic contaminants such as PCBs, dioxins, and pesticides in the aquatic environment, particularly bioaccumulation of persistent compounds in fish in the Great Lakes.

Johnson also thanked Dr. M. Granger Morgan, Lord Chair Professor in Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, for his public service in the past four years as chair of the SAB.

The SAB is an independently chartered federal advisory committee composed of external scientists and engineers. The SAB’s principal mission includes reviewing the quality and relevance of the scientific and technical information being used or proposed as the basis for EPA regulations. Every year, EPA solicits nominations for members to serve on the SAB. The chair will serve a two-year term beginning Oct. 1.

Information about the SAB: http://www.epa.gov/sab