What We Do

Enviro-Tox Services, Inc. (Enviro-Tox) provides toxicology services to the environmental service and industrial sectors. Our clients include environmental and engineering consulting firms; oil, chemical and pharmaceutical companies; “brownfield” and real estate developers; urban planning and law firms, and other private entities. We serve school districts, private and public companies, redevelopment and regulatory agencies, entities that buy, sell, or service real estate property; and consulting and law firms that provide environmental services.

Enviro-Tox is set apart from its competition by our practical and realistic approach to solving environmental and health and safety problems. We are proud of our distinguished record of applying toxicology and risk assessment expertise to help clients find cost-effective solutions to environmental problems. Our toxicologists are results-oriented, value-conscious professionals that strive to provide valuable solutions within the constraints of applicable regulatory guidelines.

We offer the full range of toxicology consulting services, including:

• Toxicology resources
• Litigation support
• Property damage and toxic tort litigation support
• Health and ecological risk assessments
• Hazard identification
• Toxicity assessment
• Chemical fate-and-transport simulation
• Exposure assessments
• Dose reconstruction studies
• Development of Risk-Based Cleanup Levels (RBCL)
• Risk evaluations for “Brownfield” projects
• Risk evaluations for “Containment Zone” projects
• Air toxics risk assessments
• Risk assessment for property transaction
• Indoor air quality

Enviro-Tox is a certified Disadvantaged Business Enterprise under the California Unified Certification Program (UCP Firm Number: 34603). We are also a certified Small Business Enterprise (Account No. 17741) and listed in the Los Angeles Business Assistance Virtual Network (LABAVN; Company ID: 43437).

Toxicological Resource
Our toxicologists specialize in human, occupational, and environmental toxicology. We have access to many chemical and toxicological database systems that allow immediate retrieval of scientific data and information. Availability and access to a broad spectrum of current and state-of-the-art information systems allows us to provide rapid response to inquiries raised by our clients. Inquiries span the fields of chemistry and toxicology, including human health and ecological risk assessment, industrial hygiene, generation of material safety data sheets (MSDS), expert witness testimony, chemical physical and chemical properties, regulatory compliance, transportation requirements and labeling, and hazardous waste management.

Litigation Support Services
The increased publicity of the presence of potentially toxic chemicals in the environment, the workplace, and in consumer products has resulted in increased filings of toxic tort litigation and resulted in a need for more qualified general toxicology experts. We know the importance of providing high-level technical support to the legal community.

Our services include:
• Dose reconstruction studies
• Chemical fate and transport analysis that can be used to delineate responsibility allocations
• Expert witness in Toxicology
• Preparation of state-of-the-art defenses
• Preparation of suggested questions for depositions of experts
• Seminars and briefings for attorneys on technical aspects of toxic tort cases
• Critical analysis of scientific writings
• Assisting with identification of appropriate expert witnesses
• Assisting with interpretation of medical complaints, reports, and claims.

Health and Ecological Risk Assessments
Under federal, and most state regulatory programs, environmental cleanups are required only if a contaminated site represents a current or future health risk. Risk may be defined as the probability and severity of loss. Loss may be economic, personal, societal or to well-being and the environment. In most cases, the risks to human health and the environment will determine the need and urgency for cleanup and site remediation. The need for environmental cleanup is influenced by: (1) whether the released chemicals are found in air, soil or water; and, (2) if they have the potential to reach human or ecological receptors. Regardless of the toxicity of a chemical, no injury can occur unless there is exposure. When a chemical is released to the environment, an assessment has to be conducted to determine whether humans or animals have the potential to be exposed to potentially toxic substances. If exposure is feasible, the magnitude of the exposure must be assessed in order to predict the risk magnitude. The determination of potential toxicity, magnitude of exposure, and quantification of risks is known as Risk Assessment.

Benefits
For most environmental restoration projects, the most tangible benefit of a risk assessment is its ability to increase contaminant cleanup levels and hence reduce remediation costs. There are, however, other cost-saving advantages to using risk assessment in your project. For example, environmental cleanup costs can be reduced by:

• Eliminating from consideration areas that do not represent a risk.
• Prioritizing areas or sites for remediation.
• Closing low-risk sites with minimal or no regulatory restrictions.
• Reducing remediation equipment inventory, rental fees, and downtime.
• Immediately addressing areas of greatest concern to prevent the spread of contamination.
• Reducing potential liabilities by targeting resources to areas that represent a threat to human health and the environment.
• Reducing waste production and disposal costs.
• Maximizing land value after remediation by assuring owners or prospective buyers that the remediated site does not represent a risk to human health and the environment.
• Reducing data collection to only that which is required for proper evaluation of risks.
• Finding alternate corrective actions that can be used to reduce risk. Some of the alternate solutions may include alternate points of compliance, institutional controls, or natural attenuation.
• Reducing regulatory agency oversight and, possibly, litigation costs.
• Accelerating the regulatory agency approval and site closure process.
• Minimizing the potential for future corrective action or litigation.

In addition to these benefits, risk assessment can also be used to:

• Develop emergency contingency plans
• Evaluate potential health risks associated with accidental releases
• Develop public information packages
• Request air emission source permits and variances
• Comply with federal, state and local air toxics regulations, and
• Evaluate the applicability of Best Available Control Technology for your site(s).

A risk assessment can help you stretch your environmental dollar by demonstrating that you don’t have to clean up to 110 percent, you don’t have to go the “extra mile” (i.e., dig down an extra 20 feet), and you don’t have to finish it by yesterday. Not all the benefits of a properly executed risk assessment can be quantified in terms of cost savings. A risk assessment can show that, in some cases, corrective action can be more hazardous and carry a greater risk than no remediation, and active remediation is not necessary to achieve compliance.

Risk Communication
Our risk assessments are designed to meet current federal, state, and local guidance and requirements. Enviro-Tox incorporates scientific advances in toxicology and environmental sciences. We produce technically sound documents that meet regulatory requirements and provide a strong negotiating position with agencies. We can also write our assessments in a simplified format for management and the general public.

Risk Assessment for Property Transaction
The environmental awareness of property owners and developers is growing. This has created an increasing demand for "no risk" and "no further action" documentation in real state transactions. Enviro-Tox professionals have used risk assessments to:

• Obtain “no further action” letters from regulatory agencies;
• Set acceptable cleanup levels for contaminated property; and
• Demonstrate that remediated properties do not represent a health risk to its occupants and their neighbors.

Our risk assessments have been instrumental in reducing the stigma associated with real or perceived contamination. For example, industrial facilities and properties with a history of hazardous materials use and storage are often severely undervalued because of imprecise or incomplete contaminant characterization. The "cost to cure" for such properties may exceed their market value. Enviro-Tox professionals have used risk assessments as a vehicle to present the facts in cases where the actual or perceived presence of environmental contaminants is responsible for stigmatizing a property. The risk assessments are designed to present all the relevant site-specific, technical, and scientific facts associated with the contaminants in an effort to counteract the negative emotions that are associated with the real or perceived presence of contaminants at a site.

We can review site-pertinent data and conduct very simple to complex risk assessments to determine a site’s potential risks. Enviro-Tox professionals can also review site data to detect potential data gaps existing in the due diligence documentation for a site. An expert and realistic evaluation of the potential environmental risks posed by a site and an accurate idea of the existing data gaps, buyers and sellers can negotiate agreements that comprise the full scope of the environmental impact on the property. Enviro-Tox’s services are directed toward:

• Safeguarding human health and the environment
• Identifying and quantifying hazards from potentially toxic chemicals
• Facilitating complete and economical compliance with appropriate regulations
• Helping minimize liabilities associated with hazardous materials and real estate transactions
• Providing accurate information to respond to community and regulatory concerns.

Enviro-Tox professionals employ risk assessment as an integral component of difficult closure projects and as cost-effective alternatives to conventional "dig-and-haul" approaches. This has allowed many of our clients to reach clean closure in situations where other consultants failed. Not only has this saved our clients money in the short term, it has also reduced the long-term liability they might otherwise have faced.

Liability Assessment
Enviro-Tox professionals use risk assessment methodologies to assess the potential environmental liabilities that buyers and sellers of real estate assume as part of a property transaction. Enviro-Tox has considerable experience conducting human and ecological risk assessments, indoor air quality assessments, and dose reconstruction studies. We have conducted these studies in support of real estate transactions in either screening or detailed assessment format. We also use risk assessment methodology to: (1) Assess possible environmental impacts and health hazards that may result from the manufacture, storage, use or disposal of chemical substances at a property, and (2) To determine the long-term liability associated with current conditions at the property. If a potential hazard exists, Enviro-Tox can recommend risk management measures to mitigate the hazards or limit liability for the parties involved in the transaction.

Indoor Air Quality
Indoor air quality problems (both real and perceived) can be an expensive and potentially devastating occurrence to a building owner or manager. Many companies are now electing to conduct indoor air quality (IAQ) evaluations as part of their due diligence processes when buying or selling built structures. IAQ assessments are also conducted in response to building occupant concerns or complaints. Solving indoor air quality problems demands both technical expertise and sensitivity to the concerns and fears of the occupants Enviro-Tox professionals take the time to study a building and its potential sources of IAQ problems. For example, Enviro-Tox professionals:

• Review the as-built drawings to identify construction materials that may affect air quality.
• Evaluate the ventilation system operating parameters and specifications.
• Review the maintenance and service schedules for the building’s ventilation and air conditioning systems to pinpoint the potential for IAQ problems.
• Sample the duct interiors and registers and check the air flow for colony-forming units of mold and bacteria.
• Using handheld, direct reading instruments, we can trace the potential focus of IAQ problems.