Risk Communication Tox Boot Camp | #ACMT2026
Includes a Live In-Person Event on 03/19/2026 at 8:50 AM (EDT)
- Registration Closed
2026 ACMT Tox Boot Camp | Quantifying Risk – The Facts, Communicating Risk – The Feelings: An Overview for Medical and Clinical Toxicologists
March 19, 2026
Hilton Boston Park Plaza, Boston, MA
Join the American College of Medical Toxicology (ACMT) for a full-day, skills-focused pre-symposium that pairs the science of human health risk assessment with the art of effective risk communication. Designed for medical and clinical toxicologists, participants will walked through how environmental and regulatory risk assessment frameworks are applied in practice—and how to translate those complex assessments into clear, trustworthy conversations with patients, communities, and other stakeholders. While the content is geared to medical toxicologists, public health professionals will benefit from this training as well. Public health practitioner participation will enhance the training and allow for medical toxicologists and public health to learn from each other.
The morning session will highlight how federal and state agencies (e.g., USEPA, FDA, state health departments) evaluate chemical exposures in settings such as hazardous waste sites, workplaces, homes, diet, and drinking water. Participants will see how risk assessors derive and use toxicity values, screening levels, and guideline values for contaminants like pesticides, heavy metals (e.g., lead, arsenic), and PFAS, and how uncertainty, variability, multiple-chemical exposure, and sensitive populations are handled in real-world decisions.
The afternoon session will shift to the psychology and practice of risk communication. Using research on risk perception, emotion, and trust, faculty will explore why “just the facts” approaches so often fail—and what to do instead. Through discussion and a worked example, participants will practice planning and executing a risk communication effort that both respects people’s feelings and improves understanding of risk-related choices.
Learner Objectives
After attending the event, participants should be able to:
● Describe and apply environmental and public health risk assessment frameworks used by agencies (e.g., USEPA, FDA, state health departments), including the distinction between hazard and risk assessment, development of toxicity values, and use of screening/guideline values while accounting for uncertainty, multiple chemicals, and sensitive populations.
● Explain key insights from cognitive psychology on risk perception—why people’s fears may not align with quantitative estimates of risk, and why “facts-only” communication often fails without attention to feelings, context, and trust.
● Apply practical strategies for planning and carrying out effective risk communication efforts in medical and clinical toxicology and public health setting
Continuing Education
Live and Enduring continuing education credits for Physicians and Pharmacists is provided by AKH Inc., Advancing Knowledge in Healthcare. It is expected that learners will receive up to 5.25 credits for learning and change.
You may also be interested in:
AACT Pop Tox Symposium ACMT Toxicosurveillance Symposium
Questions?
Please write to ACMT at events@acmt.net
Agenda | March 19, 2026
All times listed are in local, Eastern Time.
8:50 - 9:00 AM ET
Welcome & Opening Remarks
Diana Felton, MD Division Chief, Hawaii State Department of Health
9:00 - 11:30 AM ET
Risk Assessment Overview for Medical and Clinical Toxicologists (Including Case Studies, Q&A, Discussion)
Philip Goodrum, PhD, DABT, Principal Toxicologist, GSI Environmental
11:30 - 1:00 PM ET
90 minute Lunch Break
1:00 - 2:30 PM ET
Risk Communication Overview for Medical Toxicologists
David Ropeik, Risk Communication Expert, Retired Harvard Instructor, Author
2:30 - 2:45 PM ET
15 minute Break
2:45 - 3:45 PM ET
Exercises/Q&A/Discussion
David Ropeik, Risk Communication Expert, Retired Harvard Instructor, Author
3:45 - 4:00 PM ET
Debrief Session
Diana Felton, MD, Division Chief, Hawaii State Department of Health
Diana Felton, MD (Moderator)
Division Chief
Hawaii State Department of Health
Dr. Diana Felton is board certified in emergency medicine and medical toxicology. She has recently taken over as Chief of the Hawaii Department of Health’s Communicable Disease and Public Health Nursing Division. Prior to that, she was the State Toxicologist with the Hawaii Department of Health Hazard Evaluation and Emergency Response (HEER) Office.
She worked with many state, federal, and community partners on issues such as childhood lead poisoning prevention, safe fish consumption, air pollution risks, pesticides, and other environmental health hazards. She is a member of the Hawaii Advisory Committee on Drug Abuse and Controlled Substances and EPA’s Children’s Health Protection Advisory Committee.
She is a proud graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, attended medical school at the University of California, Davis, and completed her emergency medicine residency at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, Massachusetts. Fellowship training was completed at the Harvard Medical Toxicology Fellowship at Boston Children’s Hospital in conjunction with the Massachusetts and Rhode Island Poison Control Center.
Philip Goodrum, PhD, DABT
Principal Toxicologist
GSI Environmental
Dr. Philip Goodrum is a Principal Toxicologist at GSI Environmental with nearly 30 years of experience in quantitative risk assessment and environmental modeling. His expertise spans human health and ecological risk assessment, sediment remediation, groundwater compliance monitoring, and natural resource damage evaluation. A recognized national leader in probabilistic risk assessment and lead exposure modeling, Dr. Goodrum has served as a trusted advisor to government and private sector clients, contributed extensively to peer-reviewed literature, and provided expert testimony in environmental litigation. His work also addresses emerging contaminants such as PFAS and 1,4-dioxane in drinking water. In addition to his consulting practice, Dr. Goodrum teaches Environmental Risk Assessment as a visiting adjunct professor at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry.
David Ropeik
Risk Communication Expert, Retired Harvard Instructor, Author
Retired
David Ropeik is retired Harvard Instructor, author, and potter. He taught risk communication at the Harvard School of Public Health and “Critical Thinking About Environmental Issues” in the Harvard School of Continuing Education. He is widely published in both the general and academic press on risk issues and risk perception. He is author of Curing Cancer-phobia How Risk, Fear, and Worry Mislead Us, How Risky Is It, Really? Why Our Fears Don’t Always Match The Facts and lead co-author of Risk!!! A practical guide for deciding what's really safe and what's really dangerous in the world around you.
From 1978-2000 he was a broadcast journalist in Boston, twice winning the DuPont Columbia Award, often referred to as the Pulitzer Prize of broadcast journalism, as well as four Emmy awards. He was a Knight Science Journalism Fellow at MIT, 1994-5. He was a founding member of the Board of Directors of the Society of Environmental Journalists.
Registration Rates
Registration includes:
- Access to the live in-person event on Thursday, March 19, 2026
- Access to the on-demand recording for 90 days after the event
- Access to the speaker slides
- Continuing Education credits available for Physicians and Pharmacists
| ACMT Member Rates | Early-Bird Expires: Feb 6, 2026 | Regular Rate Begins: Feb 7, 2026 |
|---|---|---|
Member Tier I: Full, Affiliate, International, Emeritus |
$325 | $400 |
Member Tier II: Fellows |
$225 | $300 |
Member Tier III: Residents, International - Developing Country |
$125 | $200 |
Member IV: Medical Students |
$100 | $175 |
| Non-Member Rates | Early-Bird Expires: Feb 6, 2026 | Regular Rate Begins: Feb 7, 2026 |
|---|---|---|
Non-member Tier I: Physicians, Pharmacists, Lawyers, "Other" |
$400 | $475 |
Non-member Tier II: Fellows, SPIs, Nurses, etc. |
$275 | $350 |
Non-member Tier III: Educators & Emergency Responders |
$175 | $250 |
Non-member IV: Residents & Students | $150 | $225 |
Early-Bird Rate
Early-bird rates expire at midnight on FEBRUARY 6, 2026. Fees increase to the Regular Rate after this date, no exceptions.
ACMT Membership
ACMT Members receive a discounted rate. Interested in becoming an ACMT Member? Contact our Membership Team at membership@acmt.net. Learn more at: www.acmt.net/membership
Refunds and Cancellations
Event registration cancellations received on or before February 3, 2026 (2/3/26) will receive a full refund less a 8% processing fee. Cancellations received between February 4, 2026 and March 4, 2025 (2/4/26-3/4/26) will receive a 50% refund. Cancellations made on or after March 5, 2026 (3/5/26) will not receive a refund. All Continuing Education registrations will be refunded in full less an 8% processing fee regardless of date.
All cancellation requests must be made in writing and emailed to: events@acmt.net. No telephone cancellations will be accepted. A refund that results from a cancellation or change to your registration will be returned to the original payer and in the original method of payment.
Pending review, limited exceptions will be made based on need and circumstance and must be submitted in writing to events@acmt.net. Because each exception must undergo a review and approval process, we ask in advance for your patience.
Questions?
For any questions, please email us at events@acmt.net.
Continuing Education
Live and Enduring continuing education credits for Physicians and Pharmacists is provided by AKH Inc., Advancing Knowledge in Healthcare. It is expected that learners will receive up to 5.25 credits for learning and change
Available Continuing Educations Credits:
- Continuing Medical Education (CME)
- Continuing Pharmacist Education (CPE)
In support of improving patient care, this activity has been planned and implemented by AKH Inc., Advancing Knowledge in Healthcare and American College of Medical Toxicology (ACMT). AKH Inc., Advancing Knowledge in Healthcare is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) and the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team. If you are seeking continuing education credit for a specialty not listed above, it is your responsibility to contact your licensing/certification board to determine course eligibility for your licensing/certification requirement.