Chris Schlekat

About Chris Schlekat

As Executive Director of NiPERA, I work with a group of world-class human health and environmental toxicologists to address the fate and effects of nickel in workplaces, consumer settings, and the environment. NiPERA is the Science Division of the Nickel Institute, whose mission is to promote and support the proper use of nickel in appropriate applications. From the perspective of NiPERA,\"appropriate\" means that risks have been quantified and have been demonstrated to be acceptable according to internationally accepted standards. Please visit our website for more information: https://nickelinstitute.org/ My career leading to this stage is described by my over 70 peer-reviewed publications on ecological and human health risk assessment, and by my experience in the following areas: Aquatic Toxicology • Incorporation of bioavailability concepts into regulatory risk assessments on metals • Implementation and management of acute and chronic aquatic toxicity tests • Development of strategies for laboratory to field comparisons (mesocosm, field-based threshold derivation) • Measurement and modeling of contaminant trophic transfer in aquatic systems • Risk assessment of metals in tropical and polar ecosystems • Measurement of contaminant bioavailability Sediment Toxicology • Bioavailability of sediment-associated contaminants • Incorporation of bioavailability concepts into risk assessment • Development, implementation, and management of acute and chronic sediment toxicity tests • Site-specific sediment quality evaluations Soil Toxicology • Bioavailability of soil-associated contaminants • Determination of Soil Quality Standards in EU and China Chemicals Management • REACH • Globally Harmonized System • EU Water Framework Directive • Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) SIDS (Screening Information Data Set) Process • Council of Canadian Ministry Experts revision of Water Quality Guidelines • U.S. EPA’s Integrated Risk Information System Risk Assessment • Ecological risk assessment • Human health risk assessment • European Union Existing Substances Risk Assessment (EC 1488/94) Biogeochemistry of trace elements • Geochemical cycling of metals and metalloids in aquatic and sedimentary systems • Isolation and manipulation of microorganisms involved in geochemical processes that affect contaminant speciation and degradation

Experience

1. Executive Director

   Nipera Inc

   Jan 2021 — Present · Durham, NC, US

Education

• University of South Carolina

  Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Environmental Health Sciences (Environmental Toxicology)

  1994 — 1998

• Case Western Reserve University

  Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), Biology/Biological Sciences, General

  1982 — 1986

• University of Delaware - College of Marine Studies

  Master of Science (M.S.), Marine Biology/Biochemistry

  1986 — 1989

Skills

• Sediment Toxicology
• Water Quality
• Environmental Awareness
• Bioavailability
• Scientific Writing
• Water
• Environmental Impact Assessment
• Environmental Toxicology
• Biochemistry
• Aquatic Toxicology
• Environmental Science
• Soil
• Aquatic Ecology
• Ecotoxicology
• Toxicology
• Ecology
• Laboratory
• Risk Assessment
• Management
• Exposure Assessment
• Metals in the Environmental
• Environmental Management Systems
• Risk Management