Penelope A. Fenner-Crisp
The information listed below is current as of the date the transcript was finalized.
Interview Details
Interview Sessions
Abstract of Interview
Penelope Fenner-Crisp grew up in the suburbs of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, one of two children. Her father changed jobs frequently; her mother was a housewife until Fenner-Crisp was nearly through high school. The family all read a great deal, and Fenner-Crisp loved science from third grade on. At the University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, Fenner-Crisp majored in zoology and minored in chemistry. While in college Fenner-Crisp worked at Marquette University’s Medical School, working first on mosquitos and malaria in Harry Beckman’s lab. She later switched to work on blood pressure in James Hilton’s lab and moved to Galveston, Texas, as a graduate student in his lab. In Galveston she married, had her first child, and finished her dissertation research. When her husband finished his PhD and accepted a position at Georgetown Schools of Medicine and Dentistry, the family moved to Northern Virginia. Four years after their second child was born, Fenner-Crisp began (and finished) a two-year postdoctoral fellowship in her husband’s laboratory. When the family went to Birmingham, England, for her husband’s sabbatical, Fenner-Crisp worked on cardiac function in John Coote’s lab. Back at Georgetown University she worked in Frank Standaert’s lab for eighteen months and spent a few months working on a toxicology report for the National Academy of Sciences (NAS). All this experience made her realize that she did not want to teach or to do research in a lab.
Finding another career option at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Fenner-Crisp began by writing health advirsories for neurotoxic pesticides in drinking water. She helped organize Women in Science and Engineering (WISE). Tired of the Office of Drinking Water and wanting to help make policy, she became deputy director and then director of the Health and Environmental Review Division of the Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxic Substances. From there Fenner-Crisp went to the Office of Pesticide Programs, where she had the most fun.
Next Fenner-Crisp began work on the Food Quality Protection Act (FQPA), dealing again with neurotoxins as well as other classes of pesticides. She found that she liked working in the data-rich environment of pesticide regulation. An NAS study on pesticides in the diets of infants and children in the twenty most commonly consumed foods concluded that no carcinogens should be approved. Congress mandated an almost-immediate establishment of EDSTAC (Endocrine Disruptor Screening and Testing Advisory Committee), so the EPA had to find scientists and design tests. Fenner-Crisp set up the office in which the Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program would reside, but refused to run it, instead going back to Pesticides for her last few years at the EPA; there she finished the FQPA-mandated science policy on the child-specific additional 10x safety factor, and, feeling a sense of “completion” and believing that the “fun stuff” was done, she retired.
After leaving the EPA Fenner-Crisp was director of the Risk Science Institute (RSI) at the International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI) for four years, working on many projects designed to improve general principles and practices of risk assessment.
Fenner-Crisp is skeptical about absolute claims on either side of a scientific argument; she talks about voluntary versus involuntary risk and personal responsibility. She explains animal welfare issues and their value in translating study results for their prediction of the impact on human health of exposure to chemicals. She talks about personalities, rivalries, and competition, within and between shifting departments, populations, and administrations. She promotes government career choices for chemists and scientists in other disciplines. She discusses publishing, women in science, and professional societies. Regarding pesticides, she advises the public to “be aware but don’t be afraid.” Officially retired, she nevertheless continues to participate in the activities of several science-based non-profit organizations such as GreenBlue and Piedmont Master Gardeners.
Education
| Year | Institution | Degree | Discipline |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1962 | University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee | BS | Zoology |
| 1964 | University of Texas Medical Branch | MA | Pharmacology |
| 1968 | University of Texas Medical Branch | PhD | Pharmacology |
Professional Experience
Marquette University
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
University of Texas Medical Branch
University of Birmingham Medical School
George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences
US Environmental Protection Agency
International Life Sciences Institute
Independent Consultant
Honors
| Year(s) | Award |
|---|---|
| 1964 | Johanna Blumel Award to female medical or graduate student with highest grade point average (GPA) |
| 1982 | USEPA Gold Medal for Exceptional Service (In recognition of the creative development and exceptional implementation of health advisories which were extremely useful to States and communities affected by contamination of drinking water supplies in the United States) |
| 1986 | USEPA Bronze Medal for Commendable Service (For outstanding service in the organization and review of Risk Reference Doses (Acceptable Daily Intakes) and the science from which they are derived) |
| 1988 | USEPA Bronze Medal for Commendable Service (For outstanding contributions in the development of the first 25 Toxicological Profiles in accordance with Section 110 of the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986) |
| 1988 | USEPA Bronze Medal for Commendable Service (For exceptional achievement in the development and implementation of the Office of Drinking Water’s Performance Improvement Project) |
| 1989 | USEPA Bronze Medal for Commendable Service ( For exceptional achievement in the timely development of Health Advisories for the National Pesticide Survey) |
| 1994 | USDA Certificate of Appreciation (In recognition of significant contributions in developing the Codex Strategic Planning document) |
| 1996 | Society for Risk Analysis Risk Practitioner award |
| 1999 | USEPA Bronze Medal for Commendable Service (Recognition for scientific expertise and national leadership shown in developing the EPA policy for use of probabilistic analysis in risk assessment). |
| 2000 | USEPA Fitzhugh Green Award (the Agency’s highest award for contributions on behalf of EPA to its international activities) |
| 2003 | Toxicology Forum Fellow |
Table of Contents
Family life in Milwaukee. Early interest in reading and science. Schooling.
University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, zoology major, chemistry and English minors. Tech in Harry Beckman’s lab, working on mosquitos and malaria. Switches to James Hilton’s lab; move to Galveston, Texas. Work on blood pressure. Publications.
Continues in Hilton’s lab. Lab size and composition. Marriage and birth of children. Dissertation research and defense. Working in husband’s reproductive endocrinology lab. Husband's sabbatical in Birmingham, England. Teaching. Learning electron microscope. Working on cardiac function, similar to her graduate research, in John Coote’s physiology lab. Frank Standaert’s lab at Georgetown University for eighteen months. Few months working on toxicology report for National Academy of Sciences (NAS). Realized she did not want to teach or do lab research.
Politics. Neurotoxins in pesticides; writing health advisories. Helps found Women in Science and Engineering (WISE). Preferred to synthesize others’ data. Enjoys getting EPA started. Children’s careers. Move to Charles Elkins’ division to help make policy. Deputy director, then director of the Health and Environmental Review Division of the Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxic Substances. Move to Office of Pesticide Programs. Working on Russian-English dictionary of scientific terms in Moscow, Russia.
Alar and apples. Finishing at Pesticides. Working on Food Quality Protection Act (FQPA). Back to working with neurotoxins. Working in Health Effects Division and on exposures. Learning exposure assessment. Asbestos problem in different division. Updating Congress about children’s health. NAS study on pesticides in diets of infants and children. Twenty most commonly consumed foods. EBDCs. FQPA Delaney Clause. Personalities and rivalries; competition. Shifting departments, populations, administrations. Endocrine disruption work complicated; no tests available at that time; had to find scientists and design tests. Endocrine Disruptor Screening and Testing Advisory Committee (EDSTAC), Wingspread Conference well-funded until present. Carol Henry. Lynn Goldman. Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program (EDSP). Back to Pesticides for last few years at EPA. Finishes science policy for FQPA.
Alex Malaspina sets up nonprofit to study development of science topics important to food industry. Fenner-Crisp appointed director of Risk Science Institute (RSI), stayed four years. Now contractor, working on cancer guidelines for different branch of ILSI. Translating to non-cancer toxicity, results sent to World Health Organization (WHO). Interagency disagreements. Publications. Women in science. Government career alternatives for chemists. Professional societies. Important role in risk assessment guidelines across agencies. Drafts FQPA’s 10x safety factor policy. POPS Treaty (Stockholm Convention).
Working with WHO after Moscow trip. Alternate years with United Nations (UN). Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) work and endocrine disruption. Joint Meeting on Pesticides and Residues (JMPR): domestic agenda vs. international. Independence of science experts representing country, not agency. Tobacco industry’s interference. Importance of mutual exchange. Delaney Clause removal. Finished FQPA, felt sense of “completion.” Thought “fun stuff” all done, so retired. Some informal mentoring; new hires’ qualifications. Carol Henry. Non-profit work since retirement: American Chemistry Council (ACC) and supporting LRI. General principles for assessment.
Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Validation of Alternative Methods (ICCVAM): minimizing animal sacrifice; translation to human health. Need for alternate chemical testing; European Union push to end animal testing. Public’s view of pesticides. Critic of Environmental Working Group (EWG’s) assessment process in Dirty Dozen. “Be aware, but don’t be afraid.” Skeptical toward absolute claims on either side. Voluntary vs. involuntary risk. Personal responsibility. Challenge never to be completely certain but have to guide or regulate, for both humans and ecology. She and husband both from poor backgrounds but worked hard at what they liked. Husband’s career: nickel studies for EPA. Endocrine Disruption purple book. EPA job and fear of writing and speaking. Still working on projects, though fewer, in retirement.
About the Interviewer
Jody A. Roberts is the Director of the Institute for Research at the Science History Institute. He received his PhD and MS in Science and Technology Studies from Virginia Tech and holds a BS in chemistry from Saint Vincent College. His research focuses on the intersections of regulation, innovation, environmental issues, and emerging technologies within the chemical sciences.
Sarah L. Hunter-Lascoskie earned a BA in history at the University of Pennsylvania and an MA in public history at Temple University. Her research has focused on the ways in which historical narratives are created, shaped, and presented to diverse groups. Before Sarah joined CHF, she was the Peregrine Arts Samuel S. Fels research intern and Hidden City project coordinator. Sarah worked both in the Center for Oral History and the Institute for Research at CHF and led projects that connected oral history and public history, producing a number of online exhibits that used oral histories, archival collections, and other materials. She also contributed to CHF’s Periodic Tabloid and Distillations.