Letter From the Chair

Kipp Coddington
Alston & Bird, LLP

The current year promises to be another busy one for the Committee. On Mar. 15, 2003, Vice-chair Lynn Bergeson will moderate a panel at the 32nd Annual Conference on Environmental Law at Keystone, Colorado on the hot topic of toxicogenomics. Toxicogenomics is an emerging scientific field that combines studies of genetics, genetic susceptibility, gene expression, and bioinformatics to understand the roles of gene-environment interactions in disease. Entitled “It’s All in the Genes: Toxicogenomic Data and Their Use in Risk Assessment, Tort Liability, and Environmental Regulation,” the program will draw upon the views of a distinguished panel to discuss the National Center for Toxicogenomics, how toxicogenomic data can be used in risk assessment and in other regulatory contexts, and how this emerging area will likely revolutionize theories in toxic tort cases, risk assessment, and environmental regulation. The program promises to be of great interest to Committee members, and I encourage you to attend.

Vice-chair Ken Weinstein has scheduled another full docket of pesticide meetings, a task that he has accomplished for more years than many of us can remember. The first meeting was held on Jan. 21 at the Washington, D.C. offices of Latham & Watkins. Future meetings will be held on April 1 and June 17 at the same location. We intend to have telephone conference call access to those meetings so you can participate even if you are not located in Washington, D.C. Watch the Committee’s Web page for more details.

On Feb. 27, 2003, Vice-chairs Herb Estreicher, Jim Chen, and Lawrence Culleen will host a half-day panel discussion entitled “Antimicrobial Pesticides – Regulation of Innovative and Unique Products.” The program will explore, in three panel discussions, various aspects of the EPA Office of Pesticide Programs’ Antimicrobial Division’s (AD) jurisdiction over antimicrobial products. Speakers will include Frank Sanders (Director of AD), Shawn Urelius of the Albemarle Corporation, Jan Dhonau of the Procter & Gamble Company, and Pat Quinn of the Accord Group. The meeting will be held at the Washington, D.C. office of Covington & Burling. Please see the Committee’s Web site for more details.

Following up on our successful Dec. 19, 2002, teleconference about the Data Quality Act, we intend to hold additional teleconference programs throughout the spring and summer. Possible topics include the EU chemicals programs, air toxics (in conjunction with the Section’s Air Quality Committee), the transport of dangerous goods, and right-to-know issues related to homeland security. We welcome member ideas for additional teleconference programs as they are effective and easy to set up on relatively short notice.

Vice-chair Richard Mannix deserves the Committee’s kudos for recently completing our contribution to the 2002 edition of The Year in Review. That task takes substantial time and effort, and we are indebted to Richard for carrying that load for yet another year.

Vice-chair Patricia Sims is hard at work on public service ideas, building upon the Committee’s long-standing and successful teach-in programs.

The strength of our Committee is measured by the participation of its membership. Please contact me if you want to get involved at kcoddington@alston.com. There is much to do and many opportunities for you to participate.