Dr. Harlee S. Strauss is an expert in human health risk assessment and toxicology, with experience in both community and workplace settings. She has over 20 years of consulting experience and is currently the president of H. Strauss Associates, Inc., a consulting firm she founded in 1988.  Dr. Strauss has taught toxicology to undergraduate and graduate students, and is currently teaching this course at Clark University in Worcester, MA. 

Dr. Strauss has personally conducted over 60 site specific risk assessments. She has evaluated the toxicity of a range of chemicals including chlorinated and non-chlorinated solvents, petroleum hydrocarbons, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, polychlorinated biphenyls, nitrogen-containing compounds, metals, pesticides, and gases such as hydrogen sulfide. These evaluations were conducted for various purposes including risk assessment, setting or reviewing exposure or clean-up standards, and the investigation of possible relationships between exposure and reported health effects in workers or community residents. 

Dr. Strauss has participated in numerous multi-disciplinary projects that applied technical knowledge to challenging problems.  She was the team leader of the Human Health Risk Assessment for the Rest of River portion of the GE/Housatonic River Site, a multimedia, probabilistic assessment of the risks associated with PCBs in the sediment, fish, waterfowl, soil, and agriculture products in the River and associated floodplain. The assessment underwent public comment, scientific peer review, formal responsiveness summary and revision.  Dr. Strauss has also been a peer reviewer of toxicology and risk assessment reports, including the the Hudson River, the Proposed Bioaccumulation Testing Evaluation Framework for Determining the Suitability of Dredged Material to be Placed at the Historic Area Remediation Site (HARS) in New York, Drake Chemical Incinerator, various screening assessments under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, and an ATSDR toxicological profile.  Dr. Strauss was a panel member of four studies conducted under the auspices of the U. S. Army Science Board, of which she was a member. 

Dr. Strauss was a post doctoral fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) where she conducted research applicable to toxicology and a Congressional Science Fellow (AAAS) where she worked in the US House of Representatives on issues related to science policy, oceans policy, and environmental policy.  Dr. Strauss’ work history includes positions as a special assistant for governmental affairs at the American Chemical Society, a research associate at the MIT Center for Technology, Policy, and Industrial Development, a consultant with two larger environmental consulting firms, and the founding executive director of a nonprofit environmental institute.

Recent Publications and Presentations

Strauss H.S., Ferson S., McGrath R., Svirsky S.; 2005. Calculating a soil EPC when sampling and exposures are non-random. Poster. Society for Risk Analysis, Orlando, FL.

Strauss H. S., Ferson S., Tucker W.T . 2005. Risks from Fish Consumption in the Housatonic River: Exposure Parameters. Society for Risk Analysis, Orlando, FL.

Strauss, H. 2004. “Sportsfish Consumption Surveys: A Risk Assessment Practitioner’s Wish List.” Human and Ecological Risk Assessment. 10 (6):1213-1225.

Strauss, H.S. 2001. Evaluation of EMPACT Metro Grant – Roxbury MA
Time-Relevant Communication of Ozone and Particulate Air Pollution Data: A Pilot Project to Raise Public Awareness and Promote Exposure Reduction

Strauss. H. 1997. "Is Bioremediation a Green Technology?" J. Soil Contamination, 6(3):219-225.
 

Education