TCEQ Director Michael Honeycutt Will Lecture for Environmental Science Seminar Series

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WACO, Texas (Sept. 16, 2013) - Michael Honeycutt, Ph.D., director of the toxicology division of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), will give a lecture entitled "Toxicology at the TCEQ: What do Regulatory Toxicologists Do?" at Baylor on Thursday, Sept. 19.

The event is sponsored by the department of environmental science in Baylor's College of Arts & Sciences.
Honeycutt has worked for TCEQ for 17 years. He reviews air permit applications, results of ambient air monitoring projects and human health risk assessments for hazardous waste sites. He also updates TCEQ's Effects Screening Levels, or toxicity factors for chemicals. He is a technical resource for issues concerning air and water quality, drinking water contamination and soil contamination.
"Over the past 20 years, toxicology has changed immensely," Honeycutt said in a company newsletter. "Techniques for evaluating the harmful effects of a chemical are much more advanced, particularly when it comes to the way chemicals affect human cells. We also understand more about the human body and how it responds to chemical exposure. Now, we need to rethink the way we conduct risk assessments to better incorporate all this new knowledge, to help our risk assessments to be more realistic and predictive."
Honeycutt is under consideration to be a member of the EPA scientific advisory board.
"I've known Mike for over 15 years, and I have the utmost respect for him as an objective scientist," said George Cobb, Ph.D., professor and departmental chair of environmental science.
"Mike will be talking about issues of environmental quality and environmental protection that impact the entire Baylor community," Cobb said. "He'll be talking about the types of projects and skills that students might need in order to pursue careers in the type of job that he currently occupies."
The seminar will be held from 1 to 1:50 p.m. in Room E234 of the Baylor Sciences Building, 101 Bagby Ave. For more information, contact Baylor's department of environmental science at (254) 710-3443.
by Rachel Miller, student newswriter, (254) 710-6805
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