Professional Profile
Ms. Panko has more than 30 years of experience conducting and managing a wide variety of occupational, environmental, and consumer health risk assessments and is a Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH). She has focused primarily on evaluating chemical risks from industrial, commercial, and consumer products within the context of various regulatory programs and voluntary initiatives. Some of this work included product lines such as paints and coatings, adhesives, tires, arts and crafts, beauty care, and many industrial process chemicals.
Ms. Panko’s areas of expertise include quantitative exposure assessment such as retrospective analysis of occupational and community-based exposures to industrial emissions; human health risk assessment for contaminated sites; industrial hygiene program development and implementation; indoor air quality related to industrial, commercial, and residential environments; and product stewardship and sustainability. She has evaluated potential human health risks associated with numerous substances, including benzene, toluene, xylene, acetone, TCE, dioxin, PCBs, mineral spirits, a wide variety of metals, PAHs, perfluorinated compounds, and biologicals including fungi and bacteria.
Ms. Panko has published on the use of chemical fingerprinting and other commercially available tools to evaluate chemical risks associated with a product throughout its life cycle, providing transparent and scientific approaches to evaluating chemical substitutes. Additionally, Ms. Panko is an international expert on potential human and ecological health risks associated with non-exhaust vehicle emissions, in particular tire and road-wear particles.