Litigation Support
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Expert Testimony Provided

• In a Citizen suit against a new multi-billion dollar petrochemical manufacturing complex being built on the Texas Gulf Coast
  
• In a Toxic tort case against a Texas petrochemical company involving worker exposures to reduced sulfur compounds and whether those exposures were sufficient to cause Plaintiff's alleged symptoms/injuries
• In a Citizen suit against a Texas energy company in which a judge from the Western District of Texas ruled from the bench that there were no violations of the Clean Air Act and later ordered the Plaintiff to pay $6.4 million in defense attorneys’ fees
• In a Toxic tort case involving a flaring event at a multi-national petrochemical company that resulted in a jury verdict for the defense
• In a Citizen suit against a Texas petrochemical company involving excess air emission and maintenance, startup, and shutdown events
• On potential risks associated with permitting of rock crushers (silica, limestone, PM10/2.5), a concrete batch plant (silica, particulate matter [PM10/2.5]), hazardous waste combustion units (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dioxins), a copper smelter (PM10/2.5, nitrogen dioxide [NO2], sulfur dioxide [SO2], arsenic, lead, and cadmium), electric generating units (PM10/2.5, NO2, SO2), and petrochemical refineries (PM10/2.5, NO2, SO2, volatile organic compounds, hydrogen sulfide [H2S] and other reduced sulfur compounds)

Developed Opinions

• About whether alleged bodily injuries were likely the result of exposure to toxic gases released from a tank battery in a workplace ​injury case
• Regarding whether residuals remaining in liquids, solids, and dusts post lease termination posed a health threat to future tenants in a lawsuit alleging failure to restore the premises or provide compensation for damage to the premises during occupancy  
• In a Citizen suit regarding whether intermittent opacity events at an electric generating unit potentially affected or threatened future injury to the health and/or aesthetic interests of standing witnesses for the Plaintiffs
• On the likelihood that exposure to H2S/SO2 from a from a Sulfur Recovery Unit release was sufficient to cause known health effects in workplace injury case
• About the potential for health effects associated with relatively short-term exposure to benzene concentrations in drinking water above the Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL)
• About potential risks associated with lead and total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) levels detected in street sweepings

Regulatory and Risk Assessment Support

• Dr. Fraiser is actively involved in ongoing discussions/debates about the potency of ethylene oxide as a carcinogen. As the only toxicologist on Task Forces for two municipalities with ethylene oxide medical supply sterilization facilities, she provided specialized knowledge and expertise on the risk potentially associated with air monitoring results and helped develop strategies for the assessment of actions taken by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). She testified before the Illinois House and Senate on ethylene oxide risk and cancer potency on behalf of the Advanced Medical Technology Association (AdvaMed) and she participated in a Congressional Briefing on ethylene oxide in February 2020
• Provided comments to EPA on behalf of commercial clients and trade organizations regarding the extent to which health studies supported the need for a tighter ozone (O3) and NO2 NAAQS
• Conducted screening ecological risk assessments for various industrial operations (bronze foundry, former refineries) under the Texas Risk Reduction Program, its predecessor the Texas Risk Reduction Rule, and under other regulatory programs 
• Conducted and/or served as task leader for hundreds of human health risk assessments and/or risk-based corrective action (RBCA) evaluations in support of RCRA closures or under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act for both commercial companies and government clients
• Developed risk-based regulatory criteria for a variety of compounds (H2S, nickel oxide, cesium oxide, methyl isobutyl carbinol, thionyl chloride) including emergency response planning guidelines, inhalation reference concentrations (RfCs), water quality criteria, and acceptable ambient air levels while assisting clients wishing to challenge health-based criteria during public comment periods, identify adjustments to existing criteria, and develop health-based criteria for chemicals lacking established criteria
• Served as project manager and/or technical lead for several multi-pathway exposure and risk assessments conducted for coal-fired power plants, which entailed evaluating potential health effects associated with emissions of metals (mercury, arsenic, chromium and other metals), PM10/2.5, NO2, SO2, semi-volatile organic compounds
• Performed human health and screening ecological risk assessments for facilities (former lube oil refinery, petrochemical refinery) intended for divestiture in Southeast Asia
• As a Toxicologist with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, conducted and managed risk assessments for incinerators and industrial boilers seeking permits to burn hazardous waste and provided critical input into the development of protective concentrations under the Texas Risk Reduction Program (TRRP)
• Conducted human health risk assessments for several lead-contaminated sites (lead bearing manufacturing site, foundries, lead smelters)
• Performed a human health exposure and risk assessment for Rodeo® herbicide based on its intended use patterns, including applicator exposure, consumer safety, and terrestrial wildlife, leading to registration approval in the state of Connecticut
• Primary author on a successful delisting petition for di-n-octylphthalate in which similarly-structured phthalates were evaluated
  
  

Lucy Fraiser, Ph.D., DABT - 512-636-8494 - lucy@lucyfraiser-toxicology.com