FACULTY
John C. Kissel, PhD, MS
Professor, Env. and Occ. Health Sciences
Dr. Kissel is an environmental engineer whose research focuses on human exposure to environmental contaminants. He is a former President and Councilor of the International Society of Exposure Analysis and former chair of the Exposure Assessment Specialty Group of the Society for Risk Analysis. He is also an ad hoc member of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) Science Advisory Panel and served as a member of a National Academy of Sciences/National Research Council committee examining Superfund cleanup of mining wastes in the Coeur d'Alene River Basin of northern Idaho. The external research funding Dr. Kissel receives as principal investigator comes primarily from EPA and the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). He also participates in a training center funded by NIOSH as Director of the Hazardous Substances Academic Training program. Dr. Kissel has sole responsibility for two courses, Hazardous Waste Management (ENVH 446) and Probabilistic Exposure Assessment (ENVH 574), and partial responsibility for Microbial Risk Assessment (ENVH 543). He also lectures periodically in other courses including ENVH 431 (Environmental and Occupational Sampling and Analysis I) and ENVH 577 (Risk Assessment for Environmental Health Hazards), and contributes to organization of the Environmental Health program's journal club (ENVH 594).
Contact Information
Office: Suite 100
Box 354695
4225 Roosevelt Way NE
Seattle, WA 98195-6099
Tel: 206-543-5111
Tel: 206-543-3364
Fax: 206-543-8123
jkissel@u.washington.edu
Links
Research Interests
Human exposure assessment, environmental risk assessment, hazardous waste management, soil cleanup, water quality
Education
PhD, Civil Engineering, Stanford University 1985
MS, Environmental Engineering, Harvard University 1974
Projects
Dr. Kissel has a history of research related to human exposure to environmental contaminants. One aspect of this work involves characterization of human dermal contact with soils and sediments. Results of those studies have been incorporated directly into EPA guidance documents, such as the Exposure Factors Handbook, that are used by persons involved in cleanup of Superfund sites or other contaminated lands. Dr. Kissel and his students have also investigated the efficiency of dermal absorption of contaminants from environmental matrices. A second research focus area is evaluation of the predictive capability of regulatory exposure models. Dr. Kissel was awarded an EPA STAR grant to examine correspondence between output from probabilistic aggregate exposure models and observed levels of urinary biomarkers of pesticide exposure. A NIOSH-funded project involving prediction of chemical decontamination of skin by washing began in September 2007. Selected journal publications are listed in an abbreviated bibliography accessible via a link in the left column. More details about research and teaching activities can be found on Dr. Kissel's laboratory web site.
