ISESAwards
Constance L. Mehlman Award
2015 Winner: James L. Repace
For over35 years,JamesL. Repacehasconductedoriginal researchmeasuring, and modeling human
exposureto, and risk from, secondhandsmoke(SHS) in a wide variety of locationswherepeople live
andwork. His research,lectures,andtestimonybeforethe legislaturesof manycountries in NorthandSouthAmerica, Europe,Asia, and the Pacific Rim hasbeena prime contributorto a worldwide effort toreducethe exposureof millionsof people to SHS. His early research, publishedin 1980in thejournal
Science,showedthat PM2 5 concentrations averagedsix timeshigherin buildingswheresmokingwas
permitted than in nonsmoking buildings or outdoors,andthis pioneering workhada major impacton
the scientific community. In 1985,hepublishedthe first health risk assessmentof passivesmoking
andlung cancerin thejournal Environment
International,
estimating 500to 5000USlungcancerdeaths
annually,and developedan exposure-responserelationshipdemonstrating that ventilationcould

James Repacemeasuring
PM2·5, PAH,
andC02 with concealed
monitorsin aCanadianpub

About theConstance L. Mehlman
AwardMyron Mehlman, the Society's firstPresidentandformermanaging
editor of theJournalof ExposureScienceandEnvironmental
Epidemiology,endowed a new
ISESawardin 1999in honorof hislatewife, Consta
nce Mehlman, anenvironmentalattorney.

not control SHSexposuresto within an acceptable level of risk. Hisresearchbecamethe subject ofnumerousradio, television,andnewspaperinterviewsandcommentaries aroundthe world. In 2004,
hepublishedan air monitoringstudy in JOEMcomparing particlelevels beforeandafter a statewidesmoking ban in six bars,a casino,anda pool hall in Delaware. It showedthat 90 to 95%of PM25 andparticulate polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon(PAH)levels werecausedby SHS,andgenerated650
million media impressions internationally, helping to persuadeseveralcountriesto enactsmoke-freeworkplacelaws. This societal changecleanedthe air in indoorspaceswherepeople spenta significant
portion of their time.
JamesRepacehasexploreda remarkably diverseset of projectson SHSandhumanexposureto
SHS,ranging from exposureanddosesof flight attendantsin the smokyskies, of workersandpatronsin smokyrestaurants,bars,offices,factories, casinosand multi-unit housing,to levels of smokein
outdoorcafes,on cruiseshipsat sea, and on college campuses. Hewasone of the first investigators
to useportable monitors to measureair pollutantsindoors, and his field studies haveincluded
measurementsof particulate matter, PAHs,nicotine,carbonmonoxide,andair exchangerates. Hehas
shownthat it would taketornado-like levels of ventilation or air cleaningto control tobaccosmoke
pollution to de minimis levels of lung cancerand heartdiseasemortality risk in hospitality locations.
Hehasdemonstrateda set of physical and pharmacok
inetic equationsfor SHScorrelating the SHS
atmosphericmarkersnicotine, respirable particles,andcarbonmonoxide,to eachotherandwith theSHSbiomarkerscotininein serum, saliva,and urineas well hashair nicotine. In collaborationwith
others,he hasusedthis methodologyto estimatelevels of fine particle air pollutionin barsfrom theurinecotinineof bartendersand patronsand comparedthemto the federal air quality indexfor outdoor
air pollution alerts. Theseefforts haveresulted in 48 peer-reviewedpaperson secondhandsmoke, inscientific, medical, engineeringjournals, earningover3400citations.

Inrecognitionof outstanding
contributions
in exposure
analysisresearchthathelped
JamesRepaceis presently a secondhand
smokeconsultant. Hepreviously servedas a researchphysicist
shapea nationalorstateattheNaval
ResearchLaboratoryandasasenior air policy analyst at the USEPA.Hehasearnedseveralpolicyor thatprovidednew
national awards,includingTheSurgeonGenera
l's Medallion,A LifetimeAchievementAwardfromthe
approachesforreductionor
AmericanPublicHealth Association,the Flight AttendantMedicalResearchlnstitute's Distinguishedpreventionof exposures.
ProfessorAward,andthe RobertWoodJohnson'sInnovatorsCombating SubstanceAbuseAward. He
hasservedas a Visiting Asst.Clinical Professorat the Tufts University School of Medicine,and as aConsultant to the StanfordUniversity Departmentof Civil and EnvironmentalEngineering.

International Society of Exposure Science

25th Annua l Meeting - October 18-22, 2015