2007 Oceans to Stars Lecture Series

Secondhand Smoke:
Low Exposures and High Stakes


James L. Repace, MSc
Biophysicist
Repace Associates, Inc.
Secondhand Smoke Consultants

May 17, 2007



Download an audio recording of the talk (8.7 MB mp3)


Introduction

Secondhand smoke (SHS) is a known cause of cancer, heart disease, respiratory disease, and other ailments. However, these diseases have a multiplicity of causes. Defendants claim SHS exposures are “low” and other sources created the illness. Plaintiffs claim “high” exposures to SHS caused their disease. In the world of toxic torts litigation involving allegations of injury from secondhand smoke, how does the expert witness use multidisciplinary science and technology in the investigation and establishment of facts and evidence in a court of law? What are the implications of the Supreme Court's Daubert Ruling for the expert witness? Cases have been brought on behalf of railroad conductors, casino dealers, flight attendants, laborers, nurses, barbers, bartenders, prisoners, office workers, and even condo owners. How have they fared in high stakes litigation, and what does it take to prove a case?


About the speaker

James L. Repace is a biophysicist and an international secondhand smoke consultant who has published more than 70 scientific papers on the hazard, exposure, dose, risk, and control of secondhand smoke. He has received numerous national honors, including the Flight Attendant Medical Research Institute Distinguished Professor Award, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Innovator Award, the Surgeon General’s Medallion, and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Public Health Association. He holds an appointment as a Visiting Assistant Clinical Professor at the Tufts University School of Medicine. He is a former senior policy analyst and scientist with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. He served as a consultant to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, on its proposed rule to regulate secondhand smoke and indoor air quality. He was also a research physicist at the Naval Research Laboratory in the Ocean Sciences and Electronics Divisions.

See his website for more information on secondhand smoke: http://www.repace.com/

See a reading list (.pdf file) of books relevant to this series.

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