Mark McDaniel

Mark McDaniel provides chemistry advice, management support, and technical guidance on various projects at AlterEcho. His work covers laboratory support, environmental remediation, Consumer Packaged Goods, composting, and regulatory support under multiple environmental regulations.

Expertise: Mark has over 23 years of experience specializing in regulatory compliance, environmental remediation, laboratory management, and emergency preparation/response. Mark is deeply involved in helping clients assess their risk/liability surrounding emerging contaminants such as PFAS and 1,4-Dioxane, as well as assisting commercial clients with product and technology development and regulatory compliance.

Key Experience: Mark has managed contracts, programs, laboratories, major remediation sites, and emergency response teams. He has developed several mobile labs for use in emergency response, aiding communities impacted by disasters such as drinking water contamination. His experience includes managing large chemical removal sites, health and safety program development, and hazardous waste identification, handling, and disposal. He is currently advising clients, including legal teams, states, municipalities, and commercial businesses, on PFAS issues. He also serves on the ABA SEER Agriculture and Food Committee and is an ABA board representative to the Council for Agricultural Science and Technology (CAST).

Professional Insight: Mark believes that time and money are the biggest barriers to environmental change, especially when it comes to PFAS and emerging contaminants. The toxicology of PFAS is only beginning to come to light for a handful of the thousands of chemicals in the class, and it will take years or even decades to understand the rest. Similarly, the cleanup effort to remove, stabilize, or transform PFAS that are already in groundwater, soil, and other sites will likely run into the trillions of dollars.

Personal Interests: When Mark is not “doing science stuff,” he can be found in Denver, CO, where he enjoys time with his family, hiking, fly-fishing, cooking, remodeling his 110-year-old home, and reading trashy science fiction novels.