Paul James Lioy (May 27, 1947 – July 8, 2015) was a United States environmental health scientist born in Passaic, New Jersey, working in the field of exposure science.
Until 30 June 2015 he was a professor and vice chair of the Department of Environmental and Occupational Medicine, Rutgers University - Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.
[1] Lioy's reputation evolved primarily based upon his role in developing scientific principles and refining the approaches that define the field of exposure science.
[9] He was a Co-Principal Investigator within the portion of the National Human Exposure Assessment Survey (NHEXAS) conducted in five mid-western states, led by Edo Pellizzari of Research Triangle Institute.
This led to studies that demonstrated that semi-volatile pesticides should not just be considered just residues after application, but as toxin that can be spread throughout the home based process of evaporation and absorption and adsorption.
In addition the use of dust laden corium as a marker of exposure was extremely valuable in conclusively defining that the removal of the wastes in the residential neighborhoods brought the levels of chromium down to background by the end of 2000.
[24] The efforts are continuing in Jersey City and are now using analytical methods perfected at EOHSI to measure the levels of the hexavalent chromium (carcinogenic form) in human blood and in the areas around remaining industrial sites, that are beginning to receive final remediation.
[25] In the wake of the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center (WTC), Lioy was able to see the dust plumes from his home in Cranford, New Jersey.
In collaboration with multiple laboratories, Lioy examined the composition and size distribution of the WTC dust in detail for inorganic, organic and ionic species.
[27] In other work that Lioy and colleagues published through 2009, they described the time line of exposure to the local population and workers from the moments after the collapse through December 2001, and pointed out the many lessons that can be learned from the WTC in order to effectively respond to other disasters.
[8][28] At the time of his death, he was working with Dr. Philip J. Landrigan et al. of Mount Sinai School of Medicine on the long-term health effects experienced by WTC workers.
[31] In 2009 he received an Ellen Hardin Walworth National Patriotism Medal from the Daughters of the American Revolution for his work on the World Trade Center aftermath.