At the Intersection of
Geology, Chemistry and Mathematics
William W. Gould, Ph.D., P.G.
www.WWGeosciences.com
412-389-2859
Risk Assessment, Statistics and Data Management
Geochemical
& Hydrogeological Consulting
Environmental
Forensics and Litigation Assistance
Groundwater Modeling Services
WWGeosciences offers
groundwater modeling services for remediation and forensic purposes. For remediation, we support site cleanup and
forecast the results of future courses of action. For forensic purposes we
ascertain the "who, what, where, when & why" of groundwater
contamination.
Large groundwater modeling projects
frequently require detailed evaluation of complex industrial sites. WWGeosciences can interact with the site
investigators to obtain the hydrogeologic information
necessary to generate flow and transport models. Turnaround on preliminary
modeling information can be rapid enough to advise clients during an
investigation already in progress.
WWGeosciences can
also provide services for clients with smaller sites. We have generated and used groundwater
models to support remedial decision-making for sites such as gas stations and can
deal with data gaps inherent in a limited investigation.
Project
Experience
· Numerical
modeling of groundwater flow to determine extraction well location for water
supply protection.
· Numerical
modeling of groundwater contaminant transport to locate probable sources of
groundwater impacts.
· Numerical
modeling of groundwater flow and contaminant transport to determine possible
extent of contamination, evaluate remedial alternatives, or substantiate “no
further action” determinations.
· Numerical
modeling of contaminant transport in soils to evaluate the threat of future
groundwater contamination from present soil contamination.
· Performed
analytical modeling of partitioning, fate, and transport of organic
contaminants between soil, air, and groundwater.
· Developed
simplified screening methods for evaluating the migration of groundwater
contaminants.
· Developed
in-house software for graphical evaluations of water chemistry.
· Developed
simplified software for performing contaminant leaching calculations.
Case
Studies
· Numerical
modeling of groundwater flow to determine extraction well location for water
supply protection. Services were
performed for industrial manufacturer in proximity to public water supply wellfield.
· Numerical
modeling of groundwater flow and contaminant transport to determine extent of
future contamination in buried valley aquifer.
Services performed for industrial manufacture to support enhanced
bioremediation plan. Plan received
agency approval and is being implemented, current
monitoring results have been consistent with model.
· Numerical
modeling of groudnwater flow and contaminant
transport to predict seepage of contaminated groundwater into proposed
excavation inside industrial facility.
Services were performed for metals manufacturer planning factory
expansion. Excavation was performed and
observed water infiltration rates agreed with prediction.
· Numerical
Modeling of groundwater flow and contaminant transport to evaluate future
location and intensity of contaminant plumes migrating from UST sites. Services were performed for responsible
parties to support remedial design or to demonstrate attainment of statewide
health standards.
· Performed
numerical modeling of groundwater contaminant transport to locate probable
sources of groundwater impacts. Services
were performed for industrial manufacturer in Piedmont area, involved in
dispute over fair allocation of response costs.
· Performed
numerical modeling of groundwater contaminant transport to locate probable
contaminant travel time from sources of groundwater impacts to public water
supply wells. Services were provided to law firm representing several industrial
manufacturers engaged in insurance claim litigation regarding numerous sites.
· Performed
unsaturated zone modeling at numerous UST sites to determine potential impact
to groundwater. Services performed for
responsible parties to determine whether groundwater remediation was needed.
Litigation
Assistance Services
Liability for environmental contamination
has been t
he issue at
dispute in many lawsuits.
There are lawsuits between potential
responsible parties where disputes arise over the fair allocation of response
costs. There are lawsuits between
potential responsible parties and neighboring residents where disputes arise
over whether contamination has done damage to a neighbor.
For these cases, WWGeosciences offers the services of
environmental forensics, or geological detective work.
WWGeosciences has prepared
many expert witness reports: analyzing the technical issues to advise the
consultants and attorneys, setting up and executing the detailed computations
that enable a rigorous evaluation of the environmental problems at issue, and
designing exhibits to present the conclusions to the non-technical jury pool.
WWGeosciences can also
provide crucial background support to consulting principals who are called upon
to provide expert testimony. Services
include document management assistance, computational modeling, technical
consultation on chemical fate & transport, and detailed critical reviews of
opposing expert's reports, depositions, and exhibits. WWGeosciences
will help you do more for your client and give your client more reason
to depend on you.
Project
Experience
· Provided
expert opinion regarding geologic and hydrogeologic
conditions and potential for transport of natural gas associated in domestic
wells. Services were provided for a law
firm representing natural gas producers in a private party lawsuit. Gave deposition and was scheduled as trial
witness. Case settled on morning of
trial.
· Performed
groundwater modeling and travel time evaluations and drafted expert reports for
industrial manufacturers involved in groundwater contamination claims. Services were provided to law firms
representing several industrial manufacturers engaged in insurance claim
litigation regarding numerous sites.
· Performed
groundwater modeling and travel time evaluation for contaminant transport potentially
associated with a leaking Underground Storage Tank. Authored expert report in
preparation for litigation. Gave
depositions and trial testimony in US District Court. Services were provided
for a law firm representing a regional oil company in a dispute over responsibility
for remediation costs. Case was decided
in clients favor.
· Provided an
expert opinion regarding geologic and hydrogeologic
conditions and contaminant transport potentially associated with a leaking
Underground Storage Tank. Services were
provided for a law firm representing a major oil company in a private party
lawsuit. Co-authored expert report in
preparation for litigation.
· Provided
extensive file review and technical support for project managers providing
expert witness testimony for law firms representing industrial manufacturers
involved in both U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and private cost recovery
actions under CERCLA. As project
coordinator, was responsible for document management and technical development
of potential litigation strategies including groundwater modeling, source identification,
contaminant fate & transport analysis, and technical evaluation of opposing
counsel's claims.
· Performed
document review and unsaturated zone contaminant transport modeling and travel
time evaluation for compounds released from manufactured gas plant sites.
Services were provided for a law firm representing a gas company engaged in
insurance claim litigation regarding several sites.
Risk
Assessment
Statutes
passed in many states which allow risk-based corrective action standards for
contaminated sites have resulted in a flurry of remediation at sites where
previously problems had festered.
Recently regulators have increased their level of scrutiny over
risk-based cleanup standards and demonstrations of remediation. For this reason great care is needed for
exposure assessments and pathway evaluations.
If you are managing a site where
intra-well or inter-well comparisons need to be made, WWGeosciences can set up the appropriate test in a user-friendly
database. WWGeosciences sets it up for
one monitoring period. In the subsequent
period, you enter the new data, and the new period's tests are done automatically.
Project Experience
· Developed
spreadsheet models for estimating volatile organic emissions from contaminated
soils.
· Developed
spreadsheet for computing vapor intrusion into buildings using the Johnson
& Ettiger model.
· Performed
pathway evaluations and exposure assessments for UST sites
· Performed
pathway evaluations and exposure assessments for industrial facilities.
· Combined
groundwater modeling, vapor intrusion modeling and exposure assessment
techniques to demonstrate attainment of remediation standards
· Performed
numerical modeling of contaminant transport in soils to evaluate the threat of
future groundwater contamination from present soil contamination.
· Revision
of public health risk assessment, and management of risk assessments through
regulatory review and comment process.
· Performed
numerical modeling of groundwater flow and contaminant transport to determine
possible extent of contamination, evaluate remedial alternatives, or
substantiate “no further action” determinations.
Computational Assistance and Statistics.
New
regulatory requirements for nonparametric and other unfamiliar statistical
tests can give a consultant headaches. WWGeosciences was the in-house statistician for
a medium-sized consulting firm, and is able to solve your computational
needs. We are experts at taking unfamiliar
statistical tests, solving them, and placing the solution into an easily usable
and client-updatable spreadsheet or database.
If you are managing a site where
intra-well or inter-well comparisons need to be made, WWGeosciences can set up the appropriate test in a user-friendly
database. WWGeosciences sets it up for
one monitoring period. In the subsequent
period, you enter the new data, and the new period's tests are done
automatically.
Project Experience
· Developed
spreadsheet models for estimating volatile organic emissions from contaminated
soils.
· Developed
spreadsheet for computing vapor intrusion into buildings using the Johnson
& Ettiger model.
· Design of
relational database applications site analytical data. Integration of site database with geographic
information systems package.
· Developed
in-house software for aquifer test analyses.
· Statistically
evaluated soil sampling results using parametric and nonparametric methods
including Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests.
· Devised
appropriate statistical tests for discriminating between groundwater and leachate source areas.
· Analyzed
water temperature and stream flow data, diurnal and weather cycle variations,
and fish temperature tolerance criteria to determine the effects of a thermal
discharge in the
Hydrogeological and Geochemical Consulting
In case of an unusual situation,
WWGeosciences can give insights based on 6 years of research and 19 years of
consulting experience. Aquifer testing,
groundwater flow, groundwater contamination, soil contamination, contaminant
migration from soil to groundwater, vapor migration, and risk assessment are
among the areas where WWGeosciences can help.
WWGeosciences is available for major
projects and also is available on a retainer basis for rapid answers to
technical questions.
Project Experience
· Performed
integrated evaluation of groundwater geochemistry, brine geochemistry, and site‑specific
stratigraphy to distinguish sources of inorganic
constituents.
· Modeled
distribution of chemical species in aqueous solutions.
· Geochemical
modeling of to predict chemical speciation in surface water and waste water to support design of a
constructed wetland treatment system for industrial manufacturer.
· Determined
interactive effects of solution composition, pressure, temperature, and flow
rates on water-rock reactions in the geothermal environment and geochemical
constraints on ore deposition.
· Experimentally
simulated the water-rock interactions in a geothermal system.
· Located
saline groundwater contamination using geophysical techniques.
· Developed
in-house software for graphical evaluations of water chemistry.
· Performed
feasibility studies for bioremediation of petroleum-contaminated soils.
· Performed
site investigations, evaluated laboratory results, and used analytic and
numerical modeling techniques to evaluate whether a site is clean or adequately
remediated to satisfy criteria for release under
state brownfields programs such as Ohio Voluntary
Action Program and Pennsylvania Act 2.
· Assessed
exposure and risk and drafted documents for response to RCRA, CERCLA, and state
regulatory actions.
Data
Validation
WWGeosciences is experienced with SW‑846
and Contract Laboratory Program (CLP) protocols for both organic and inorganic
analyses. We can evaluate the usability
of laboratory data, and also explain the meaning and the degree of uncertainty
in any analysis.
Project Experience
· Validated
laboratory data according to CLP protocol.
· Performed
rigorous data validation for SW-846 packages without CLP forms.
General
Geology and Mineralogy
William W. Gould, Ph.D., P.G. the principal of
WWGeosciences is licensed as a Professional Geologist in
Project
Experience
· Evaluated
and interpreted geochemical and hydrogeological data
to assess groundwater quality and possible contaminant migration at
state-regulated and RCRA waste management facilities.
· Logged soil
and rock borings and installed groundwater monitoring wells in unconsolidated
and consolidated materials.
· Planned and
executed comprehensive soil and groundwater sampling and monitoring programs.
· Prepared and
characterized transition metal-interlayered clays.
· Interpreted paragenetic relationships of minerals by optical
microscopy.
· Characterized
single-phase and multi-phase earth materials by x-ray diffraction.
· Characterized fine
particles by scanning electron microscopy.