Volunteer Toxicologist and Health Risk Assessment Advisor (Toxic Exposure in Military Families)

About VFEA

Veteran Families for Education and Awareness (VFEA) is a small, all‑volunteer nonprofit dedicated to raising awareness about toxic exposures affecting military and veteran families. Two of our current focus areas are:

• NAF Atsugi Shinkampo incinerator exposure
• Military aviation–related cancers

We are a working Board of Directors of seven volunteers with strong lived experience, research, and advocacy backgrounds. We are seeking a qualified volunteer environmental toxicologist to help strengthen the scientific and public-health foundation of our education, research, and advocacy work.

About the Role

We are looking for an environmental toxicologist with human-health risk-assessment experience to assist with two connected projects:

1. Review historical environmental sampling data and help identify potential health-effect categories that may warrant consideration under clearly stated, conservative exposure assumptions.
2. Review a 2002 health risk assessment and provide recommendations about questions, methods, data gaps, and current science that should be considered if a future updated assessment is conducted.

This is not a request to complete a new formal health risk assessment. Rather, we are seeking a knowledgeable advisor who can help us understand the historical record, interpret the scientific literature responsibly, and identify priorities for future research and public-health work.

The review should consider potential differences in exposure and susceptibility among adults, pregnant people, fetuses, infants, children, and adolescents. Where scientifically appropriate, it may also identify reproductive or potential multigenerational concerns, while clearly describing uncertainty and limitations.

Time commitment: About 4–8 hours per month, flexible. We can tailor the scope and timing to your availability.

What you may help with

• Review historical sampling data, contaminants, concentrations, exposure pathways, and available context.
• Identify potential health-effect categories associated with contaminants or contaminant mixtures.
• Distinguish among stronger evidence, limited or emerging evidence, and biologically plausible concerns.
• Review the assumptions, strengths, limitations, and gaps in a prior 2002 health risk assessment.
• Recommend what a future updated assessment should address.
• Help identify health outcomes, sensitive populations, and research gaps that legislators or researchers may wish to consider in future legislation
• Help translate technical findings into clear language for military families, policymakers, and the public.

Who we are seeking

This role is best suited to an environmental toxicologist or a closely related human-health risk-assessment professional with experience in areas such as:

• Human-health risk assessment or toxicological evaluation
• Environmental sampling data and exposure assessment
• Inhalation toxicology, air pollution, combustion emissions, or complex chemical mixtures
• Developmental, reproductive, prenatal, or pediatric toxicology
• Regulatory toxicology or work involving public-health or environmental agencies
• Interpretation of toxicology, mechanistic, animal, and human-health literature

An advanced degree in toxicology, environmental health, pharmacology, or a closely related field is preferred. Working professionals, retirees, academic researchers, and advanced trainees with relevant supervised experience are welcome to apply.

Scope

This is a scientific advisory role. It does not involve providing individual medical advice, diagnosing illness, determining individual causation, establishing benefits eligibility, offering legal opinions, or conducting a new formal health risk assessment.

The goal is to create a practical, evidence-informed framework for future research, public education, and potential legislative or public-health action.

Why volunteer with VFEA?

Your expertise will directly inform research, educational resources, and advocacy efforts that support military and veteran families affected by toxic exposures.

As a small, all-volunteer organization, your contributions won't sit on a shelf—they'll help shape the direction of our research, strengthen our advocacy, and improve the information available to families seeking answers.

If you're passionate about applying science to improve the lives of military and veteran families, we'd love to hear from you.