Prof. Debdas Mukerjee, a senior environment health scientist with United States Environmental Protection Agency holds an adjunct position of Professor of Toxicology at the University of Kiel Medical Faculty at Kiel, Germany.

Dr. Mukerjee has contributed extensively on many issues. His specific program area of expertise is in hazard and risk assessment of chemicals with specific emphasis on toxicity assessment of persistent bioaccumulative toxic (PBT) chemicals such as chlorinated dioxins, biphenyls and other related chemicals and a strong background in basic research on cancer. His specific program areas of expertise lie in:

1. Risk assessment of polychlorinated dioxins (PCDDs), dibenzofurans (PCDFs), biphenyls (PCBs) and related compounds.

2. Exposure assessments of PBTs with endocrine disrupting activity such as ortho substituted PCBs, with special emphasis on children’s breast milk pathway.

3. Children=s aggregate risk from multi pathway exposure to PBTs.

4. Feminization of male sexuality by PBTs with endocrine disrupting activities.

5. Children's susceptibility to cancer,

6. Cytogenetics of children with congenital defects.

He joined the EPA in 1980 after spending many years teaching and directing laboratory laboratory research on cancer biology in academic institutions including the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center at Houston, TX, and in medical schools.

He was the Director of the Division Head of Basic Research in Pathology at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, TX and research Professor Of pathology at the Jefferson Medical College at Philadelphia, PA. For the last twenty six years at EPA, he has conducted and provided leadership in risk assessment research of Persistent Bioaccumulative Toxic (PBT) chemicals such as chlorinated dioxins, biphenyls (PCBs), and dibromochloropropane, chlorophenols and other related compounds.

Over the years, he has evolved in his research career in risk assessment research and is currently providing leadership in children’s risk from exposure to PBTs (organic and inorganic) through breast milk, and on the effects of so me PBTs in disrupting endocrine functions.

Currently, based on scientific issues from basic mechanistic and risk assessment points of view, he provides scientific judgment on the Risk Assessment of PBTs in a regulatory environment to EPA’s programs, regional offices and local, national and international regulatory organizations. Results from basic research, which he conducted at academic institutions, opened new avenues for determining the genetic susceptibility of individuals to cancer. This resulted in a complementary editorial in the News and Views section of the journal Nature (December 12, 1970 issue).

His work on the risk assessment of PBTs at EPA has opened innovative approaches in estimating exposure and risk of PBTs. Dr. Mukerjee has published extensively leading scientific peer reviewed journals, to name a few are, Nature, The Lancet, Cancer Research, Cancer, Environmental Health Perspectives, Toxicology & Industrial Health, Journal of Air & Waste Management Association, Chemosphere, Experientia, American Journal of Human Genetics, Proceedings of the Society of Experimental Biology and Medicine and several other scientific journals.

He has written several book chapters, to name a few are in, Patty=s Toxicology, Fifth Edition published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. New York; Environmental Contamination, Ecological Changes published by The Pennsylvania Academy of Sciences; in Herausforderung Asbest published by Universum Verlagsanstalt GmbH KG, Wiesbaden, Germany. He has written invited guest editorial in Environmental Research, and Toxicology and Industrial Health. This year he wrote the Guest Editorial on Endocrine Disruptors in Environmental Research. Over the years Dr. Mukerjee has delivered more than 50 invited talks world wide. To name a few, last year he deliverd a plenary lecture on Environment & Health at the 92nd Indian Science Congress, Ahmadabad, India. He has delivered severed key note addresses.

In 2004 he delivered a key note address at the Federal Asian Pacific. American Council 19th Annual National Leadership Conference. San Francisco, CA. He deliverd the1998 Critical Review Scientific Key note Address at the 91st. Annual Meeting and Exhibition of the Air & Waste Management Association, San Diego, CA. In1995 he delivered a Keynote Address at the International Conference On Polychlorinated Biphenyls, Johannesburg, South Africa. He delivered the Conference Sectorial Talk at the19th. Congress Latinoamericano de Quimica, Buenos Aires, Argentina. He delivered a Special Seminar on invitation from the Swedish Pulp and Paper Research Institute, Swedish Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden. In 2000 he delivered a Sigma Xi Public Lecture of the Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, IL Chapter. Dr.Mukerjee has delivered a few lectures at the Lake Shore Interfaith Institute.

This year he will talk on environmental pollution and possible preventive measures to avert their adverse health effects. Chemical contaminants in the Environment have bioaccumulated in fish, meat, cow’s milk and vegetables. The residues of these contaminants have been detected in human tissues including the blood serum, bone, breast milk and even in cord blood serum. Some of the consumer products have chemicals that are toxic to our health, thus people are exposed to these chemicals from fetal to geriatric stage of life. Occupational exposure to some of these chemicals may result in neurological, reproductive and developmental, endocrine, carcinogenic and various other adverse health effects.

In his talk Prof. Mukerjee will discuss on the measures that we can to take to avert such adverse health effects. In the first half of the talk Prof. Mukerjee will discuss on the source of the chemical pollutants in air, water and soil, how these chemical pollutants are contaminating our food and how we are getting exposed. In the second half he will discuss the measures that we can take to reduce the exposure to these chemicals and their adverse health effects.