Scott Hawley, PhD

Job Title

Environmental Team Leader and Senior Risk Assessor

My Role

I co-ordinate workflows and support project delivery for the environmental team. I also maintain a technical role working on environmental fate projects focusing primarily on projects within the context of European plant protection product regulations.

Background/Career History

I joined Enviresearch in 2016 as an environmental fate consultant with a primary focus on European chemicals regulations. Most of my technical projects have been based around zonal and member state specific regulatory requirements for active substances under EU Reg 1107/2009. Prior to joining Enviresearch I completed a PhD at Durham University in association the Transition Metals in the Environment EU-funded Marie Curie Training Network. I have an undergraduate degree in marine science, chemistry and geology from the University of Miami.

Qualifications

I've been working as a technical modeler and risk assessor with Enviresearch since 2016. Prior to joining Enviresearch I completed a PhD at Durham University in association the Transition Metals in the Environment EU-funded Marie Curie Training Network. I have an undergraduate degree in marine science, chemistry and gelology from the University of Miami.

Hobbies & Interests

I have been competing in various endurance sports for the past 20 years.

Specific Expertise

I have a detailed working knowledge of the FOCUS models used for standard environmental fate assessments as well national models and protocols used by DE, DK, NL, SE and UK. I use this knowledge to understand the limitations of the standard assessments and develop strategies to overcome problems in the modelling. This has included implementing GIS datasets to increase the precision and quality of groundwater and surface water risk assessment. More commonly it involves adapting the models so they can be used with trace metals and other compounds which have innate properties that break the standard model. The FOCUS models were developed on the assumption that pesticides are aromatic or polyaromatic xenobiotic compounds applied via mass spraying equipment across fields. While this fits the way some plant protection products are used there are a lot of uses which don’t fit into this set of assumptions.

I also use my knowledge of the environmental fate models to advise on ecotoxicity assessments where concerns are raised surrounding the relationship between predicted exposure profiles and laboratory effects. While exposure concentrations are trivialised to a single value in regulatory submissions, it is impossible to understand risk without understanding the context of any given exposure value. This is increasingly important for biological and/or botanical substances which do not always fit the default definition assumed by the regulations for a plant protection product. The EU is also actively working to increase the amount of data produced by surface water and soil exposure models without inherently improving the quality, precision, or accuracy of that data. More data is not a bad thing but, intelligent implementation and interpretation of the new larger data sets will be necessary ensure the changes improve rather than just complicate the system.

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