Billy Ringger Speaks at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health in New York

On May 12, 2025, Davis, Johnston, & Ringger partner Billy Ringger spoke to students and faculty at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health in New York City. He was joined by colleagues Joseph Graziano, PhD, Emeritus Professor of Environmental Health Sciences and Pharmacology at Columbia University; Norman Kleiman, PhD, Associate Professor of Environmental Health Sciences at Columbia University; and Angela Hind, MD, Environmental and Medicolegal Consultant from Asheville, North Carolina. Speaking before students and faculty in the Joseph Graziano Conference Room, as well as online, the group presented “The Kingston Coal Ash Disaster: a case study of how lawyers, doctors, and scientists can work together to effect change and influence environmental health policy.” The seminar provided a historical overview of the Kingston coal ash disaster, the legal issues involved, and how scientific-legal partnerships were able to establish the link between coal ash exposure and adverse health outcomes among the Kingston coal ash remediation workers, furthering the scientific understanding of coal ash exposure, and ultimately achieving an unprecedented settlement for the workers and their families.