Show Me the Money: Two Case Studies on Groundwater Contamination and the Associated Legal Dispute
Presenter: Dr. John K. Yu
Manager, Applied Science Group, Parsons Engineering Science
摘要：
Historical use of fuel and chlorinated solvents by industries caused groundwater contamination. The general practice before the enactment of the Resources Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) of 1976 was to pour the waste solvent in chemical disposal pit or down the sewer drain. Unintentional spill of petroleum hydrocarbon or leakage from underground storage tanks (UST) also caused groundwater contamination. Because many of the compounds of the fuel and chlorinated solvents are carcinogens, possible human health issue could be linked to the drinking of groundwater. Two tort cases will be presented here. Scientist and engineer would learn the basic hydrogeology and the how to be an expert witness from this case studies.
The glacial outwash aquifer of the Aberjona Valley, Woburn, Massachusetts, was contaminated by chlorinated solvents from Riley Tannery of the Beatrice Foods and the W.R. Grace's plant that manufactured the cryovac machines used for meat package in the supermarket. Residents of the east Woburn experienced elevated rate of leukemia in children in 1970s. A class action case was filed against W.R. Grace at al. in 1982. Groundwater scientists were called in as expert witness in the legal dispute. This case is depicted in the movie A Civil Action with John Travolta as the plaintiff lawyer.
The second case is Pouge vs. Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) and KEI regarding the underground diesel tanks leak from the engine testing facility. Mr. Pouge was former computer programmer of the SwRI Building 46 and claimed that his health deterioration was caused by the diesel spill that contaminated the groundwater of the institute and thus, the drinking water. KEI, a local consulting firm, was retained by SwRI to remediate the spill near Building 69 and was under the UST reimbursement program of the Texas Natural Resources Conservation Commission (TNRCC). The defendant lawyer of KEI retained a groundwater scientist as an expert witness throughout the deposition and the rendering of professional opinions in an affidavit. Subsequently in a summary judgment in February 1999, the judge dismissed the case without a further jury trial.