About | Environmental and Toxic Tort Institute

mission

Put the science of exposure and causation in one place.

Contamination matters are decided by scientific evidence that most of the people who need it do not have ready access to — scattered across epidemiology, toxicology, hydrogeology, analytical chemistry, and the case law that governs whether any of it will be heard.

The Environmental and Toxic Tort Institute exists to converge that knowledge and make the first hour of understanding free. Anyone with a contamination or toxic tort matter can use the Institute’s research concierge at no charge: it asks what the substance was and who was exposed, explains what a causation showing actually requires, identifies which disciplines do that work, and says plainly what evidence should be secured before a site changes and it is gone for good.

When a matter needs more than orientation — an exposure reconstruction, a causation opinion, a data usability review, or testimony — the Institute connects you with the right specialist, usually within one business day.

plainly stated

What the Institute is and is not.

The Institute is

A knowledge institution. Plain-language references on exposure pathways, causation structure, contaminant science, the statutory framework, and admissibility — written for people who will be cross-examined on the subject.
A front door to specialists. Toxicologists, epidemiologists, industrial hygienists, hydrogeologists, analytical chemists and exposure scientists from academia, industry, government laboratories and consulting practice.
Free at the point of use. The concierge, the references, and the evidence-preservation guidance cost nothing.
Neutral as to side. The Institute serves plaintiff and defense counsel, insurers and insureds, corporations and government, matter by matter. The science does not change according to who asked.

The Institute is not

Not a causation opinion. Nothing on this site, including concierge conversations, is an opinion on general or specific causation, or on liability. Naming what a showing requires is not the same as concluding it is met.
Not medical advice. Nothing here addresses any individual’s health, diagnosis, prognosis or treatment. If you are worried about your own health, speak with your own physician — that conversation comes first and nothing here substitutes for it.
Not legal advice. The Institute describes statutory frameworks in general terms for lawyers who know them. It does not advise on a matter, predict how a court will rule, or opine on whether a claim is viable.
Not a party to your matter. Using this site creates no expert-client or attorney-client relationship, and concierge conversations are not privileged or confidential.

How the Institute sustains itself

The research assistance is free and stays free. When a matter requires a retained expert — for an exposure reconstruction, a causation analysis, a data review, an advisory engagement, or testimony — the Institute arranges the engagement through its expert network and is compensated for that work.

That is the entire business model. We publish it because visitors who cross-examine people for a living should not have to guess.

leadership

Leadership.

Announcement · August 2026

Russ Rosenzweig named Executive Director of the Institute

Russ Rosenzweig was named Executive Director of the Environmental and Toxic Tort Institute in August 2026. Russ was one of the pioneers of the expert witness industry and has decades of experience helping clients understand complex technical disputes and connecting them with the right experts and knowledge bases.

He founded the first expert witness search and referral firm in 1993 and led it for three decades, connecting thousands of attorneys, insurers, and companies with specialized experts. His clients have included most of the largest law firms in the United States.

B.A., Northwestern University · M.B.A., University of Chicago Booth School of Business

the network

The specialists behind the answers.

Contamination matters rarely sit inside one discipline. An exposure reconstruction may need a hydrogeologist to model transport, an analytical chemist to attribute the source, an industrial hygienist to establish what a person actually received, and a toxicologist and an epidemiologist to address whether that dose means anything — with each opinion having to withstand challenge on its own.

The Institute draws on a working network built over thirty years across those disciplines, from academia, industry, government laboratories and consulting practice. Experts are engaged matter by matter and remain independent. The Institute’s role is to find the right one quickly, and to assemble the team when a matter crosses fields.

An advisory council of senior practitioners is being convened and will be named here.

standards

The rules this site holds itself to.

The causation line

The Institute explains what a causation showing requires and which disciplines establish it. It does not conclude that the showing is met. That line is written into the concierge’s operating rules and holds on every conversation.

Health questions go to clinicians

Nothing here addresses an individual’s health. If someone describes their own illness, the concierge is instructed to say so plainly and point them to their own physician before anything else — not as a disclaimer at the end, but first.

Standards with a date on them

Regulatory values move, and some are actively contested — the federal PFAS drinking water rules were mid-rulemaking through 2026. This site names frameworks and describes what is unsettled rather than printing numbers that will quietly age into being wrong.

Preserve the evidence

Contamination evidence is perishable in a way documents are not. Where a site is about to be remediated, demolished or closed, the Institute says so early and plainly, because that window does not reopen.

AI, used openly

The Institute uses AI to research, draft, and power the concierge, under human editorial direction. We think institutions should say so plainly.

Corrections

Errors, once known, get fixed. If something on this site is wrong, tell the Institute and it will be reviewed and corrected.

Why this institute exists.