Halloran & Sage Environmental Law and Land Use Partner David B. Losee has been appointed for a four year term, to the 18-member National Advisory Environmental Health Sciences Council (“Council”) of the National Institutes of Health (“NIH”) by Tommy G. Thompson, the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services. Mr. Losee joins five other non-scientific members of the Council who are leaders in the fields of public policy, law, health policy, economics, management and environmental justice.
“We welcome Mr. Losee to our advisory council and look forward to working with him. I am sure that he will find his service to be very productive and rewarding,” remarks Dr. Kenneth Olden, Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (“NIEHS”).
The function of the Council is to advise the Secretary and Assistant Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services and the Directors of the NIH and NIEHS on matters relating to the conduct and support of research, training, health information dissemination, and other programs with respect to factors in the environment that affect human health, directly or indirectly. In addition, the Council makes recommendations on applications for grants, cooperative agreements for research and training and approval of applications for projects which show promise of making valuable contributions to human knowledge.
In Connecticut, during the summer of 2001, the NIEHS, supported research incorporating asthmatic children living in the state, resulting in evidence showing that asthmatic children who use maintenance medication are particularly vulnerable to the effects of ground-level ozone, even at levels well below the federal standard set by the EPA. Some other significant studies the Council has recommended funding for include areas such as birth and developmental defects, including the effects of lead, mercury and PCBs; susceptibility to environmental exposures that may result in increased risk of diseases such as breast cancer or Parkinsons’; and the disproportionate health impact of environmental pollution on disadvantaged populations.
Since 1973, Mr. Losee has practiced in the area of environmental law and land use and was instrumental in drafting eight environmental statutes in Connecticut during the 1970s. In 2002, Mr. Losee was the lead counsel for the first college in the United States to successfully complete the U.S. EPA Audit Policy Program. This groundbreaking, self-conducted audit serves as a benchmark for future audits of not only colleges, but all EPA regulated industries. Mr. Losee remains at the forefront of this area, speaking to organizations, clients and public institutions on both a local and national level.
About Halloran & Sage LLP
Founded in 1935, Halloran & Sage LLP is a leading full service law firm, numbering over 100 attorneys. It has offices in Hartford, Middletown and Westport, Connecticut and Washington, D.C. The Firm has a diversified practice and represents regional, national and international clients in a wide range of areas, including Administrative and Regulatory Law, Appellate Law and Advocacy, Business and Commercial Law, Commercial Litigation, Construction Law, Environmental Law and Land Use Planning, Estate Planning Probate and Trust Law, Government Affairs, Insurance Law, Labor and Employment, Products Liability and Risk Management, Surety and Fidelity Law, Tort and General Litigation, and Ventures and Emerging Enterprises.
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