Members of the 2010–2011 Council found this simple bottle of single-malt scotch a symbol of the camaraderie that they developed over the past few years of working together. They toasted to SOT's 50th Anniversary and wanted the next set of leaders at the 75th Anniversary and at the Centennial Anniversary to carry on the tradition.

 

This is a Statham Pressure Transducer (serial number 7167, model number P23BC). It is estimated to be from the 1970's. Despite it's age, it is still fully functional. This is characteristic of the style of transducer as it is solid state (i.e. no moving parts). These style transducers were commonly used (are still are by some "senior" investigators) for the measurement of a variety of pressures. Most notably are arterial and venous pressures (mm Hg) in a variety of biomedical research settings (including cardiovascular toxicology). The transducer is traditionally hooked up to an amplifier/strip chart. This particular transducer is wired to be attached to a Gould amplifier via a six-pin connector.

Methods developed for in vitro skin penetration determinations have helped to reduce or replace animal use in many instances. In vitro studies provide information regarding metabolism and distribution that cannot easily be derived from in vivo procedures The contributions of many researchers over the past 50 years or more have made this possible to take note of this achievement, we propose to include in the SOT time capsule, a few of the many equally useful skin diffusion cells that have been used to assess the safety of topical drugs and cosmetics, to help define the risks associated with skin exposure to chemicals in the environment, and to facilitate the development of topical drugs to treat the skin itself as well as to facilitate the development of transdermal devices for systemic delivery of topically applied drugs.

Pictured clockwise from the upper right is the original static diffusion cell developed by Franz, a flow cell developed at the U.S. FDA, and evaporation/penetration cells developed at Letterman Army Institute of Research

The Global Problem with E-Waste The Society of Toxicology, Ethical, Legal, and Social Issues Specialty Section

SOT’s Ethical, Legal, and Social Issues specialty section has chosen a broken iPhone (cellular phone) as our time capsule contribution. The iPhone represents the enormous global problem that e-waste poses to many people at the turn of the 21st Century. E-waste is a term that is broadly applied to discarded, obsolete, and/or broken electrical/electronic devices. It is estimated that 50 million tons of E-waste are produced each year. Only 15–20% of e-waste is recycled; the results of this are that heavy metals and other potentially toxic materials are deposited in landfills or are incinerated.1 These toxic components can include lead, cadmium, beryllium, mercury, and brominated flame retardants. In many developed countries, these substances are highly regulated and can be costly to recycle or to dispose of properly. This economic disincentive to dispose of the hazardous components of e-wastes has led to the exportation of e-waste, for disposal or refurbishment, to developing countries, where disposal regulations are not as restrictive. The scope of e-wastes exportation was recently examined by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in a report entitled “Recycling—from E-Waste to Resources”.2 The report examined 11 developing countries and predicted that the amount of e-waste in these countries would increase by at least 200% by 2020. While there are some programs in these countries to deal with e-waste, the report identified practices, including incineration by backyard recyclers to recover valuable metals like gold, that release steady plumes of toxic substances (e.g. potentially, dioxins and furans). It has been documented that this uncontrolled burning and improper disposal can cause a variety of environmental problems such as groundwater contamination and atmospheric pollution which may lead to health problems. Also of concern are health effects of workers directly and indirectly exposed. Ironically, these practices yield very low metal recovery rates compared to state-of-the-art industrial facilities.

The health, environmental, societal, and ethical implications of e-waste disposal are becoming a great concern across the globe, especially in light of the current report and growing demand for technology. The UNEP is proposing that developing countries implement e-waste management centers of excellence that are comprehensive, national recycling programs. These programs would require attention from national governments so that the low-cost informal operations (e.g. open burn pits) would not out-compete more expensive, but safer, technologies. The UNEP also suggests that countries establish pre-processing technologies such as manual dismantling of e-waste to reduce the potential for pollution. These measures are intended to help developing nations thrive, and to protect their populations from potentially harmful substances that are produced as a result of our increasing demand for technological products.

The Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal is the major international convention covering this issue. With 175 parties, it aims to protect human health and the environment from the adverse effects resulting from the generation, management, transboundary movements and disposal of hazardous and other wastes. Indeed, from March 29–31, 2011, shortly after the conclusion of the SOT’s 2011 annual meeting, the Basel Convention is co-sponsoring an international workshop on hazardous substances within the life cycle of electronic and electrical products, in Vienna, Austria. (3)

1. http://www.epa.gov/osw/conserve/materials/ecycling/
2. United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). “Recycling—from E-Waste to Resources”. http://isp.unu.edu/news_events/news/2010/files/UNEP_eW2R_publication.pdf
3. Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal. http://www.basel.int/

Dear Dr. Holsapple

The Immunotoxicology Specialty Section of the Society of Toxicology is pleased to present this special keepsake box for inclusion in the time capsule celebrating the golden anniversary of the Society of Toxicology. The theme of the submission is “Home is Where Your Story Begins”. Like other sub-disciplines of toxicology, immunotoxicology—our science and our scientific family (the Immunotoxicology Specialty Section) - has found a home within the Society of Toxicology from which we are able to connect with each other and with the world. The contents of our keepsake box and the significance are described below. How difficult it was to distill it down to just these items!

Our story begins with Dr. Joseph Vos (1941–2006), whose photograph is contained herein. Jeff's contributions to immunotoxicology are many, but his greatest contribution is how he impacted the discipline over the course of his life. In addition to his research on the immunotoxicity of halogenated aromatic hydrocarbons and organotins (considered by many to be classical examples of how to study the immunotoxicity of chemical classes), his collaborative work on harbor seals brought to the attention of the toxicology community for the first time the immunotoxicology concerns in wildlife. He made us all aware of the value of incorporating immunopathology as a standard part of toxicology studies—a foundational aspect of international regulatory immunotoxicity testing today across industrial sectors—and was responsible for conducting the first developmental immunotoxicity studies. He fueled the scientific interest of Drs. Mike Luster, Jack Dean, and Al Munson and together they became what most of us fondly consider to be the "founding fathers" of immunotoxicology.

Dr. Vos' seminal publication in CRC Critical Reviews in Toxicology entitled, "Immune Suppression as Related to Toxicology", published in 1977 and also included in our submission, is generally considered to be the spark that ignited international interest in the toxicology of the immune system.

Almost immediately following Jeff's publication in CRC Critical Reviews in Toxicology, immunologists and toxicologists began their discussions in earnest in a variety of workshops and symposia including a meeting at the New York Academy of Sciences, an FDA Science Symposium, and a Gordon Research Conference. To our knowledge, no proceedings were formally published from these meetings. We believe that the first published proceedings of a meeting on immunotoxicology are found in the enclosed book, Biological Relevance of Immune Suppression as Induced by Genetic, Therapeutic, and Environmental Factors. The meeting was organized by Litton Bionetics and held in Williamsburg, VA on Nov 13–14, 1979. Participation was international and included representation across multiple industrial sectors, government agencies, and academia. It is interesting to look through the list of participants which included several of the mmunotoxicology Specialty Section's Past-Presidents (Jack Dean, Don Gardner, Loren Koller, Nancy Kerkvliet, Mike Luster, Al Munson) who went on to become key contributors in the field.

At the same time as these meetings were occurring and the Litton Bionetics meeting proceedings were being published, the editors of Drug and Chemical Toxicology elected to devote a special issue in 1979 to this burgeoning area of toxicology. In our keepsake box, we include a copy of the introductory article, "Immunotoxicology Phenomenon" written by Dr. John Moore while he was at NIEHS. It is interesting to read his description of immunotoxicology and his assertion that "Immunotoxicology in today's world seems to merit better than a 'curiosity' but doesn't yet deserve a 'really something' award. " He later notes that "existing data clearly mandates that the endeavor be pursued. " And pursue it we did!

As the science evolved and the interest in how drugs and environmental chemicals could impact the immune system grew, it was clear that the time was right to initiate a Specialty Section within the Society of Toxicology where toxicologists with similar interests could network with one another and discuss the latest science. And so, the Immunotoxicology Specialty Section of the Society of Toxicology was formally chartered in 1985. It has been a place not only for the 'elder statespersons' but where students have grown within the discipline and developed their own successful careers. They became the leaders of today (for both the science and the Specialty Section) just as the current students will be our leaders of tomorrow. At the 2010 Annual Meeting of the SOT, the Immunotoxicology Specialty Section celebrated its 25th Anniversary. Our keepsake box also includes the logo that was developed for recognition of this milestone at the Annual Meeting and a picture of the Past-Presidents that were able to be on-hand for a special presentation at our reception at the Annual Meeting. Finally, the event was marked by the publication of a special article in Toxicological Sciences entitled "A Quarter-Century of Immunotoxicology: Looking Back, Looking Forward" that looked at our history as a discipline and our current and future challenges. The article is also enclosed. It will be interesting to see in 25 years how many of those challenges have been met and what the new ones will be.

Though it covers our history to date, when it is opened many years from now this keepsake box will also represent to those scientists our beginnings and we trust that they will have many more experiences and key advances to add to it. So this is truly a submission of where the story of immunotoxicology as a science and as a Specialty Section begins. In summary, it is with great pleasure that the Immunotoxicology Specialty Section presents this keepsake box to the Society of Toxicology for inclusion in the time capsule celebrating the Society's 50th Anniversary.

Sincerely,

Leigh Ann Burns Naas, PhD, DABT, Fellow ATS
President Immunotoxicology Specialty

Keepsake Box Enclosures

1. Framed picture of Dr. Joseph (Jeff) Vos.
2. A copy of "Immune Suppression as Related to Toxicology", reprinted in The Journal of Immunotoxicology in honor of Jeff Vos upon his passing.
3. A book entitled, Biological Relevance of Immune Suppression as Induced by Genetic, Therapeutic, and Environmental Factors.
4. Copy of the introductory article, "Immunotoxicology Phenomenon", by John (Jack) Moore in the 1979 "Special Issue on Immunotoxicology" of Drug and Chemical Toxicology.
5. Picture of Past-Presidents of the Immunotoxicology Specialty Section taken at the 2010 SOT Annual Meeting in Salt Lake City, during the celebration of the Specialty Section's 25th Anniversary.
6. A copy of an article "A Quarter-Century of Immunotoxicology: Looking Back, Looking Forward" published in Toxicological Sciences in 2010 to mark the Immunotoxicology Specialty Section's 25th Anniversary celebration year.
7. The Immunotoxicology Specialty Section 25th Anniversary Logo.
8. A copy of this submission letter so those opening the time capsule in the future will understand the significance of the contents.

Items: A petri-dish and A 384-well plate. The use of in vitro assays to assess toxicology has grown substantially over the 50 years that SOT has been in existence. In addition, numerous technological advancements have increased the utility and predictability of in vitro assays. The change from the use of the petri-dish for the bulk of in vitro assays to the extensive use of multi-well plates like the 384-well plate is representative of this increase in utility and technology. Today as toxicologists embark on the goals of toxicity testing in the 21st century, the In Vitro and Alternative Methods Specialty Section looks forward to further advancements in the future of in vitro and alternative methods.

Officers of the In Vitro and Alternative Methods Specialty Section in 2010–2011:

President	Sue M. Ford
Vice President	Vincent A. Murphy
Vice President-Elect	Sharon A. Meyer
Secretary /Treasurer	Diane Hardej
Past President	David G. Allen
Councilors	Kylee E. Eblin
	Greg Falls
Postdoctoral Representative	Vijay M. Kale
Student Representative	Andrea S. DeSantis

MBSS contribution is a SNP array Chip, an autoradiogram, an Illumina Sequencing chip, and a few molecular biology catalogues as part of an historical review of DNA analysis from when many SOT members entered the field, where we are now, and with the question of where will we be in 2036.

The Risk Assessment Specialty Section (RASS) will be contributing the following items:

1. Risk Assessment in the Federal Government: Managing the Process: National Academy Press, Washington DC. 1983
   The NAS "Red Book" published in 1983, approximately 28 years ago defined risk assessment procedures for the U.S. and ultimately informed international efforts to harmonize risk terminology and methodology. We included this book in this time capsule as we felt it represented one of the significant "beginnings" for our discipline. 
2. Photo Album:
3. This album provides a current face of our specialty section and our member
rs.
4. USB Flashdrive containing RASS Best Papers and Election photos and Risk Assessment Specialty Pin:
   The memory key with RASS "Best Paper Award" winning papers represents the significant body of Risk Assessment literature in 2011 and the years since this award has been given by the specialty section.  We felt this best represented the excellence and state of the science of our members and our risk community.

 

 

For the Women in Toxicology (WIT) Special Interest Group’s contribution to the Society of Toxicology’s 50th Anniversary Time Capsule, we are proud to submit a tribute to four of our exceptional members. Drs. Meryl Karol, Marion F. Ehrich, Linda S. Birnbaum, and Cheryl Lyn Walker have provided great leadership as past presidents of the Society of Toxicology and stand as four pillars, laying the foundation for the future generation of WIT. Each has made significant strides within their respective fields through hard work and dedication to toxicology and the sciences in general. The mission of WIT encompasses four pillars 1) promote the education of not only its members, but also young women interested in pursuing degrees in the sciences, 2) increase the visibility of women within SOT and the scientific community, 3) serve to provide women with career development opportunities through mentoring and 4) providing leadership opportunities globally to it’s members both within WIT and SOT. We believe that these pillars are not only key focus areas to the members of WIT, but to the entire membership of SOT. We are indeed proud to recognize the women leaders who have led SOT, in parallel with the outstanding members of WIT who will be the future leaders of SOT.

It is with great enthusiasm and zeal that the Women in Toxicology (WIT) special interest group submit this poster for the 50th anniversary of the Society of Toxicology time capsule. Through this poster we are drawing the attention to the WIT sponsored historical highlight session for the annual SOT meeting in Washington DC, entitled “50 Years of ‘The Pill’: Risk Reduction and Discovery Beyond Contraception.” Since its approval for use by the FDA 50 years ago, the pill has been a key player in revolutionizing the lives of women. Additionally, much like how SOT has been advancing the science of toxicology for the past 50 years, the pill has been a catalyst for research on improving technologies in reproductive health. We believe that in the future, this milestone will still be remembered as a significant event in the timeline of women’s health.

We are providing copies of our 4 recent scientific meeting programs, which highlight issues and prominent scientists of the time. These programs also feature abstracts from our student members, who represent the future, and show that the science of toxicology is in good hands. Rounding out our contribution are two recent newsletters, featuring pictures from our regional meetings and student poster award winners.

This was written by our founding President, Mike Franklin, and we feel that it is not only a history of our chapter, but also captures the character and challenges of a Regional Chapter that has a huge geography-to-toxicologist ratio!

NCAC-SOT 50th Anniversary Time Capsule Entry

Unexploded Ordnance

Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) are a product of military activities during World War I and World War II. In addition to posing a serious threat from detonation, they can contain chemical weapons such as arsenical compounds (Lewisite), sulfur mustard, and nerve agents. The northwest Washington, D.C. neighborhood of Spring Valley was once home to a former munitions experimental station. This station is a large, active World War I chemical munitions legacy site on the campus of the American University Experimental Station and was discovered during a trench excavation project in 1993. The discovery has presented significant challenges to characterization and remediation, public outreach, risk communication, and inter-governmental relations.

The 50th Anniversary meeting of the Society of Toxicology featured a regional interest symposium on the history and current public health issues associated with UXO in the U.S. capital region. It will be interesting to evaluate what new challenges unfold, what new knowledge is gained, or which problems are solved over the next 25 years.

The Northern California regional chapter of SOT is presenting a bottle of Napa Valley wine as our time capsule item. This is not just an ordinary bottle of wine however, because we have named this bottle of wine "Success." We designed our own wine label. The SOT logo is used as the background to represent the strong alignment between NorCal SOT and national SOT, indicating how Northern California Chapter business is undertaken with guidance from national SOT.

There are good reasons for naming our wine “Success” Northern California SOT has become the third largest RC in the last 8 years, and we as a chapter have worked very hard to get where we are today The NorCal SOT chapter was founded in the 1980s, but became inactive in 1997For too long this chapter was dormant, and in 2002 was re-initiated in by the remarkable efforts of Bob Howd, Susan Rice, Lin DePass, George Alexeeff, Sanjay Chanda and many others The first revived regional chapter meeting of NorCal SOT was held at a Brewery in Berkeley Fourteen people showed up. Since that humble re-beginning, the chapter has been up and running at full speed. Because of the strong leadership and active membership year after a year, in only 8 years NorCal SOT has become the third largest chapter among the 18 SOT regional chapters We are very proud of this accomplishment The President of National SOT, Michael Holsapple, has referred to us as “a model of success.”  These are the words that inspired us to name our wine “Success”

On the label, one can see the increasing number of NorCal SOT members spanning the 8 years since the chapter was reinitiatedTwenty five years from now, in the year 2036, we hope to have even more members, and have left a spot on our chart for those future toxicologists who will be the members representing our most noble professionOur wish is  to re-open the time capsule in 2036, fill in the blank spot on the chart, and enjoy the wine with our colleagues We can not imagine a more enjoyable time where we may all lift a glass of wine, and celebrate the continued success of both our regional NorCal SOT chapter, and National SOT.

PANWAT Time Capsule Items

1. Enbrel package insert: Enbrel was a biologic drug that was used in the treatment of autoimmunity. It was a novel fusion protein, combining the TNFR2 to and IgG1 Fc, developed by a Seattle, WA company, Immunex. Along with several other targeting TNF-α, these agents have fundamentally altered the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and the quality of life for patients. Because of its success, Immunex was not able to sufficiently supply the market with Enbrel, and it was bought by Amgen in 2001. This package insert thus represents the current state of the science and the contribution of Pacific Northwest scientists in the efforts to develop novel therapeutics. Donated by Linda Carlock
2. Exxon Valdez Oil sample with certificate: The Exxon Valdez oil spill on March 24, 1989 resulted in the estimated release of more than 250–750,000 barrels of crude oil into the Prince William Sound, Alaska, resulting in a lasting impact to the region. Although this spill took place more than 20 years before the investment of this sample into the time capsule, we felt it appropriate to enter this item because of its relationship as a national disaster to the Deepwater Horizon fire/oil spill that took place in the Gulf of Mexico. On 20 April 2010, an explosion on the rig caused by a blowout killed 11 crewmen.  The resulting fire could not be extinguished and, on 22 April 2010, Deepwater Horizon sank, leaving the well gushing at the sea floor and causing the largest offshore oil spill, estimated at over 4 million barrels, in United States to date. Pacific Northwest researchers have been involved in evaluating the impact of this spill in the Gulf. Donated by Rafael Ponce
3. Books: Pacific NW scientists contribute in various ways to the advancement of science, public understanding, and policy debate. These books represent contributions of toxicologists in our region to the understanding of the field of toxicology more broadly and efforts to integrate science with culture, art and other media as a means to share ideas and insights. As a legacy site of the cold war, we may expect that clean-up at Hanford will continue through the time when this investment is opened. Donated by Steve Gilbert
4. Orca whale bone fragments: On Wednesday, Jan 2, 2002, residents of the cliff above Dungeness Spit reported an orca whale, apparently dead, stranded on a low lying sandbar in a marshy area just south of Dungeness Spit on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State. By May, 2002, laboratory tests determined the orca (named Hope) contained large amounts of DDT and PCBs that were among the highest ever measured in orcas.  Hope’s body burden contained 400 times the amount of DDT and 100 times the amount of PCB’s compared to previous necropsies of Southern Resident Killer Whales. The story of Hope is a dramatic reminder of the issues of contamination facing marine species in our region. The orca skeleton was recently restored by members of the Port Townsend Marine Science Center in Washington State and will soon be on display. Donated by the Port Townsend Marine Science Center, WA.