Environmental Pollution / Emissions / Air Quality Expert Witnesses: 11

I bring diverse, combined education, licensing, and credentialing in geology, biology, and hazardous materials management. Indoor air quality as related to asbestos, mold, lead, building hazards, vapor intrusion, OSHA worker and occupant complaints.

I manage a firm of environmental and industrial hygiene professionals while serving as an expert in my diverse field; I have over 70 retained cases complete. I can cost effectively support engagements that may require extensive data gathering across an expanded time frame. I apply my capabilities and credentials across commercial, industrial, and oil & gas settings, with a technical focus on highly regulated industry and real estate.

I have been steadily retained for expert witness services since 1995.

I specialize in structural fire forensic investigation and testing, routinely leverage post-flood emergency response expertise in buildings, specific to microbial disinfection, mold mitigation, and source mold under forensic methods of investigation that may exist under alleged building construction defects. I possess expertise in building systems and mitigating hazards from structures in advance of demolition for asbestos, lead, and other regulated materials.  I prepare, implement (and/or critically review) asbestos specifications, mold remediation protocols, OSHA-driven lead specifications, and remediation soil management plans.

I have evaluated diverse workplaces following loss reports due to alleged safety and public health concerns and offered mitigation strategies for worker safety under OSHA complaints, especially regarding respiratory protection. I have served as an expert for multiple worker injury and wrongful death allegations within the context of environmental exposure.  

View Ms. Franks' Consulting Profile.

Professor Christopher J. Tennant, PhD, CIH, has over 40 years of experience in the field of Environmental Health and Industrial Hygiene. He is Board Certified in the Comprehensive Practice of Industrial Hygiene. Dr. Tennant is currently President, CEO, and Principal Consultant at San Joaquin Environmental, in Fresno California, where he consults with Federal, State, County, City, various public agencies, and private industry sectors from public housing to Aerospace. His services are available in all 50 US States and the United Kingdom.

Dr. Tennant also serves as Professor Emeritus for the Department of Public Health at Fresno State University where he's taught Environment Health, Industrial Hygiene, and Occupational Health and Safety for 35 years at both undergraduate and post graduate levels.

Litigation Support - Dr. Tennant has been retained by numerous insurances companies and law firms on various Industrial Hygiene matters throughout the US, including workers compensation, property damage, personal injury, and wrongful death. He has testified as an expert witness in Federal Court, Superior Court, and Workers Compensation Appeals Board over 100 times. He's been deposed many more times. 

Areas of Expertise:

Mold Asbestos Lead-based Paint Bad Faith Environmental Contamination Hazardous Materials Clandestine Drug Lab Remediation Industrial Hygiene

Chemical, Biologic, and Physical Hazard Exposure Landlord / Tenant Disputes over Habitability / Sanitary Standards OSHA, HSE, and EU Compliance Wrongful Death Lead and other Heavy Metal Poisoning Indoor Air Quality and Human Health Hearing Conservation and Noise Ordinance Solvent Exposures

Ted W. Simon, PhD, DABT, is an award winning Environmental Toxicologist and Scientist. His expertise is in toxicology, risk assessment, mathematical modeling, statistics, neuroscience, and environmental / ecological health issues.

Dr. Simon has over 10 years of experience as a toxicologist employed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). He served as EPA’s senior toxicologist in the waste management division working on risk and soil cleanup.

Teaching Experience - Since 2001, Dr. Simon has served as an Instructor / Adjunct Professor in the Department of Environmental Health Science, College of Public Health, at the University of Georgia.

Public Speaker - Well published, including the author of a textbook on toxicology and environmental risk assessment, Dr. Simon has extensive national and international public speaking experience. Since 1996, he has been delivering seminars and lectures to universities and national institutes on many subjects within his area of expertise. In 2016, he delivered a lectures on “Bayesian Methods for Application of Uncertainty Factors,” to the Society of Toxicology Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA, and “Quantitative Prediction of Phenotypic Change from High Throughput Assay Results,” to the EPA's Workshop on In Vitro to In Vivo Extrapolation, Research Triangle Park, NC.

Litigation Support - Dr. Simon has over 15 years of experience offering expert witness services to counsel representing both plaintiff and defendant. He has been retained over 20 times since 2000 for cases involving environmental risk, drug and alcohol cases, DUI, accidental poisoning, and intellectual property. Dr. Simon has particular expertise in dioxin-like chemicals and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). His services include consulting, reports, deposition, and trial testimony when necessary.

Areas of Expertise:

Dioxins PCBs Drugs Alcohol Poisoning DUI / DWI Water Contamination Soil Contamination Environmental Risk Assessment

Environmental Toxicology Carcinogenicity Food Contamination Pesticides Fracking Lead Marijuana Polychlorinated Biphenyls Intellectual Property

Research & Planning Consultants, LP (RPC) has been assisting clients with expert services for over 45 years, including consulting and expert witness testimony for personal injury, healthcare litigation, commercial litigation and Certificate of Need matters. RPC also offers a wide selection of health data. They have served clients across the U.S, from Alaska to Florida and from New England to California. 

A Complete Team of Damages Experts for Personal Injury Litigation

Research & Planning Consultants, LP provides the following services: 

• PERSONAL INJURY - RPC provides comprehensive damages analysis in personal injury litigation. Their expert team has life care planners, vocational evaluators, board-certified physicians, economists and neuropsychologists. 

Areas of Expertise include: Life Care Plans, Loss of Earning Capacity or Support, Present Value of Damages, Medical Bill Analysis, Chargemaster Analysis, Neuropsychological Testing & Traumatic Brain Injury, Vocational Evaluations, IMEs, Section 18.001, Prestanding ED Chargemaster Analysis

• COMMERCIAL LITIGATION- RPC has provided expert analysis on commercial litigation concerning many industries: chemicals, refining, forestry, waste management, pipelines, water resources, oil and gas EDP, fisheries, agriculture, electrical generating plants, transmission lines, telecommunications, and real estate development. Our special expertise in the healthcare industry has proven valuable to business litigators unfamiliar with this complex industry.

Areas of Expertise: Breach of Contract / Commercial Economic Damages, Construction Disputes, Litigation over Non-Competitive Agreements, Environmental Torts and Toxic Torts, Commercial Disparagement, Wrongful Termination

• HEALTHCARE LITIGATION - RPC offers economic, statistical, data and clinical analysis in a wide range of healthcare litigation. They have experience with payment disputes, qui tam litigation, physician-hospital disputes, practice valuations and construction litigation. 

Areas of Expertise: Qui Tam Healthcare Litigation, Medical Staff Disputes, Professional Liability, Payment Disputes, Health Facility Construction Disputes, Freestanding ED Chargemester Analysis

• CERTIFICATE OF NEED - RPC provides Certificate of Need (CON) planning services nationwide. We have over 35 years of experience developing regulatory strategy, preparing applications and testifying in public and administrative hearings.

Areas of Expertise: Satellite Hospitals, New Hospitals, Relocation and Transfer of Beds, Observation Beds, Geriatric Psychiatric Units, Children’s Hospitals, Comprehensive Inpatient Rehabilitation Units, Neonatal Intensive Care Units, Open Heart Surgery Services, Long Term Acute Care Units, Projects that exceed CON Capital Threshold Limits, Projects for Specifically Listed Services, Programs Requiring CON, Hospices, Senior Living Facilities

Ronald T. Luke, JD, PhD, is a principal consultant and President of RPC, LP. Ron joined RPC in 1976 and became its president and principal owner in 1979. He has consulted on projects for health care providers, managed care plans and public agencies in more than 25 states. He also serves as an expert witness in trials, administrative proceedings and legislative hearings.

Active in the Health Policy Arena, Dr. Luke has been accepted as an expert in Economics, Socioeconomic Impact Analysis, and Policy Analysis by state and federal courts, and state administrative agencies. The types of cases in which he has provided expert testimony include personal injury, contractual disputes, health care payment disputes, construction defects, utility construction permitting, and certificate of need. He has testified on health care matters including market structure, billing fraud and abuse, reasonableness of charges, medical staff credentialing, workers’ compensation fee guidelines, utilization review, physician contracts, and managed care contracts.

Kacy L. Turner, MS, CRC, CVE, CLCP, is a Certified Life Care Planner and Vocational Consultant with RPC. She has over 20 years of experience in Rehabilitation. Ms. Turner has experience writing life care plans for both plaintiff and defense clients. She has experience as a rehabilitation consultant in three states and has been qualified as a testifying expert in state and federal court.  

Ms. Turner has worked on cases in several states as well as the country of Trinidad. To determine the pre-injury and post-injury employability in personal injury cases, she provides vocational testing, transferable skills analysis, job requirements analysis, rehabilitation plans, and definition of reasonable accommodations under the American with Disabilities Act. She is a member of the International Association of Rehabilitation Professionals, the Texas Association of Rehabilitation Professionals and Providers of Services, and Vocational Evaluation and Career Assessment Professionals.

Brian Piper, PhD,  is an Economist with RPC specializing in Quantitative Analysis and Modelling. He works on a variety of cases including personal injury and certificate of need. He is experienced in data extraction, management, simulation, and analysis using STATA, SQL, ARC GIS and a variety of other programs. Dr. Piper has taught graduate classes in statistics and econometrics in both MBA and Ph.D. programs.

Dr. Piper is an experienced expert, providing testimony, reports, and affidavits on the issues of economic damages in personal injury litigation, healthcare litigation, False Claims Act litigation, and other commercial litigation. He has testified on behalf of plaintiffs and defendants. 

Dr. Piper specializes in the economics of healthcare. He has been retained by healthcare providers and insurers in payment disputes. He has analyzed the reasonableness of charges and expected payment for past and future medical services for providers, insurers, plaintiffs, and defendants. Besides work in litigation, Dr. Piper has provided analysis of Certificate of Need applications and the economic impacts of proposed legislation.

Dr. Dennis Stainken has over 30 years of Industrial and Government experience managing Pollution Control and Hazardous Waste Projects. His experience includes assignments in engineering, analytical and toxicology sciences for regulatory compliance, product registration, risk assessment, technology development.

Dr. Stainken is a national expert in Environmental Toxicology & Ecological Research on the transport, fate and effect of pollutants, and in quality assurance in government and industry.

Areas of Expertise:

Health Effects Toxicology Chemical Exposure Health Issues/Physiology/Chemistry Water & Waste Water Ecological Services Contamination & Remediation Analytical Chemistry

Natural Resource Damage Assessments Property Assessments Hazardous Waste Water Quality Risk Assessment Wetlands Industrial Services Gasoline & Oil Issues

Dr. David L. Mitchell is an authority on the Numerical Modeling of Geophysical and Atmospheric Data with a Doctorate in Meteorology from Purdue University. Dr. Mitchell has over 28 years of technical modeling experience in industry and consulting.

Dr. Mitchell is a Court Qualified Expert in Air Modeling and Forensic Meteorology. His business experience includes various research, project management and technical consulting positions with Conoco, Getty Oil Company, Texaco, Tenneco, British Petroleum, Leviathan Gas Pipeline LLP and IBM Corporation.

Dr. Mitchell has extensive knowledge of Forensic Meteorology and has published his research results on the numerical modeling of atmospheric stability and convection. Dr. Mitchell is an expert in the field of Air Pollution Meteorology with over 28 years of experience with the mathematical modeling of wave propagation in elastic media, atmospheric fluid dynamics and air dispersion modeling.

Dr. Mitchell is a specialist in Weather Event Re-Construction for litigation and has provided expert testimony for numerous cases related to severe weather events and the application of Force Majeure clauses. He has provided forensic meteorology support for civil and criminal investigations and insurance cases involving weather related accidents, the release of toxic pollutants into the air, air pollution and weather related personal injury and property damage.

He is a member of the Air and Waste Management Association, the American Meteorological Society and the National Association of Environmental Professionals. Dr. Mitchell is also an Associate Member of the American Bar Association with affiliation with the Litigation Division and is a Certified Professional Geoscientist and a Licensed Professional Geoscientist (#1330) in the State of Texas, Certified by the Texas Board of Professional Geoscientists.

Degrees

Ph.D., Atmospheric Science and Meteorology, Purdue University 1976

M.S., Physics, Purdue University 1974

B.S., Physics and Mathematics (Dean’s Distinguished List), Baylor University 1972

Dissertation: A Theoretical Investigation of Atmospheric Convective Modes as a Function of Rayleigh Number, Prandtl Number and Eddy Anisotropy; 1977, Meteor. Soc. Japan, Vol. 55, No. 4, 341 – 363.

Certification and Honors

Court Qualified Expert in Air Modeling and Forensic Meteorology

Certified Professional Geoscientist, Licensed Geoscientist – Texas Board of Professional Geoscientists

Associate of the Scientific Research Society of North America

Sigma Pi Sigma, National Physics Honors Society

Distinguished Expert, National Forensic Center

Mayotte Design & Engineering, PC (MD&E) is a Civil and Environmental Engineering Design Firm based in East Lansing, Michigan.  Since 2003, MD&E has proved itself a highly responsive design, advocate and risk management partner for clients in the energy, automotive, commercial printing, textile, pharmaceutical, chemical, real estate, and legal industries.  MD&E offers a variety of services, specializing in the design and engineering of treatment solutions for wastewater, groundwater, stormwater and contaminated soil, sediment, and air.

MD&E personnel assist clientele across the US and have completed projects in: Alabama; Arizona; California; Colorado; Connecticut; Illinois; Indiana; Iowa; Kansas, Massachusetts; Michigan; Missouri, Mississippi; Nevada; New Jersey; New York; Ohio; Oregon; Tennessee; Texas; Vermont; Virginia; West Virginia; Washington, Wisconsin; Wyoming; British Columbia; Ontario; Quebec; Brazil; China; Czech Republic; Italy; and Mexico.

Timothy J. Mayotte, PhD, CPG, PE, President at MD&E, is an Environmental Engineer with over 35 years of experience in his field. He has provided litigation support and served as an expert witness on over a dozen cases dating back to the mid-1980s. Dr. Mayotte's experience includes providing testimony during numerous depositions and in open court. He has offered expertise in the following areas:

• Hydrodynamics of natural and engineered systems.
• Contaminant fate and transport in the environment.
• Biological and physicochemical process design for the treatment/remediation of water, wastewater, soil, and sludge.
• Industrial wastewater treatment.
• Management and inspection of commercial and residential construction and demolition projects, including due diligence services for property transactions.

Mark O. Barnett, PhD, PE, BCEE has over 30 years of national and international Environmental Engineering and Science experience in industry, government, and academia ranging from water supply and sanitation in rural communities to nuclear waste disposal. He is currently a Professor of Environmental Engineering in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Auburn University.

Litigation Support - Dr. Barnett has served as an environmental expert witness-expert consultant on cases in administrative, federal, and state courts ranging from permit applications to toxic tort lawsuits. He has written expert reports, filed affidavits, been deposed, and given testimony. Further, he has extensive litigation experience from his service as an administrative judge with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Writing samples, transcripts, and references are available upon request.

Areas of Expertise:

Water and Wastewater Treatment Site Assessment and Remediation Soil and Groundwater Contamination Human Health Risk Assessments Contaminant Bioavailability Environmental Permits

Environmental Forensics Environmental and Aquatic Chemistry Radioactive and Hazardous Waste Management Nuclear Environmental Engineering Sustainable Design and Development Mining Impacts

Background Experience - Dr. Barnett is a licensed professional engineer and a board-certified member of the American Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientists. His technical research focuses on the chemical processes controlling water quality and contaminant behavior in natural and engineered systems. He has been a principal or co-principal investigator on seventeen grants totaling over $12 million, and he has published over fifty peer-reviewed journal articles, several book chapters, and a book that collectively have received over three-thousand citations.

Dr. Barnett has a B.S. in Chemical Engineering and an M.S. in Environmental Engineering from the University of Tennessee and a Ph.D. in Environmental Sciences and Engineering from the University of North Carolina. He has taught fundamental and applied courses in environmental and aquatic chemistry; water and wastewater treatment; environmental engineering principles and design; and sustainable design and development.

Howard M. Kipen MD, MPH, is Board certified in Internal Medicine and Occupational Medicine. Dr. Kipen earned a BA from UC Berkeley, MD from UCSF, and MPH from Columbia University. He currently serves as Director of the Clinical Research and Occupational Medicine Division and Professor of Environmental and Occupational Health at Rutgers University. Dr. Kipen’s research focuses on clinical and epidemiological studies of the health effects of Indoor and Ambient Air Pollution. His research uses both controlled exposure models with ozone, fresh aerosols, and diesel-enriched on-road exposures, primarily with drives on the New Jersey Turnpike. A new EPA study examines health benefits of portable air cleaners for reducing indoor air pollution levels. Biomarker outcomes presently emphasized are exhaled breath oxidative stress and invasive and noninvasive measures of vascular function. Dr. Kipen has published morethan 200 articles on environmental / occupational health. Scholarly Activities:

• Former Chair, NASA Human Research Program’s Advanced Environmental Health / Advanced Food Technology Standing Review Panel
• Member, National Academies Standing Committee on Medical and Epidemiological Aspects of Air Pollution on U.S. Government Employees and their Families, 2016
• Chair / Member Multiple Ad Hoc Grant Review Panels (e.g., NIEHS, Department of Defense)
• Governor’s Appointee, Public Employee’s Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission, New Jersey Department of Labor
• Member, Public Health Scientific Advisory Board, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection

Litigation Support: Dr. Kipen has 35 years of litigation experience. He has expertise in various Toxic Torts including asbestos, benzene, mold, air pollution, occupational and environmental cancers, and other diseases. He also has expertise on "Multiple Chemical Sensitivities" (MCS). Dr. Kipen has particular experience as an asbestos plaintiff's expert and both plaintiff and defense experience with other toxic torts. His services include medical record review, thorough reporting, depositions, and trial testimony as needed.

GEO Associates provides litigation support services and expert witness testimony for civil and criminal investigations and insurance industry cases (both plaintiff and defendant) that involve Groundwater Pollution and Data Analysis, Forensic Geology and Geophysics, Hydrology Modeling, and Forensic Meteorology including Weather Event Re-Construction and Force Majeure cases. GEO Associates can assist attorneys and insurance claim professionals in obtaining, analyzing, modeling, and interpreting the correct geophysical/geological and meteorological data for their case.

GEO Associates uses the latest approved Regulatory EPA and USGS numerical modeling software to map the concentration levels and transport of air and groundwater pollutants. GEO Associates numerical modeling expertise, combined with their advanced knowledge of meteorological, geophysical and geological data gathering and processing, provides strong support to the attorney and client for cases involving Air Pollution, Reduced Visibility, Severe Storms, Groundwater Contamination, Flooding, Wind Damage and Hazardous Material Spills and Releases to Air and/or Water, which result in accidents, contamination of aquifers, toxic air, property damage, personal injury and death.

Services Include:

Forensic Geology

Industrial Groundwater Pollution

Toxic Tort Strategy

Environmental Surface and Groundwater Pollution

Mapping of Surface and Groundwater Contamination

Forensic Hydrology

Groundwater Computer Modeling

Aquifer Systems Analysis

Hazardous Spill Releases

Geological and Geophysical Data Acquisition, Processing and Analysis

Geological and Geophysical Mapping of Reservoirs

Observational Field Programs

Reflection and Refraction Seismology

Forensic Seismology

Seismic Investigations

Oil and Gas Operations and Operator Performance

Marine and Land Seismic Operations

Value Analysis of Proprietary Geophysical and Geological Data

2D and 3D Reflection Seismology Modeling and Analysis

Fluid Dynamics and Reservoir Analysis

Toxic Fluid Migration

Class Action and Force Majeure Cases

Dr. Shaun Anthony Crawford, CIH, has a diverse 30+ year background in environmental health, safety and industrial hygiene consulting and litigation support, spanning government, industry, academics, residential and non-profit sectors. He holds a MSPH in Environmental Engineering / Industrial Hygiene and a Doctorate in Environmental Health Sciences with a specialization in industrial hygiene, both from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Dr. Crawford has held academic positions in Environmental Management, Urban Environmental Studies, and Environmental Health at three universities. He has a very successful business and litigation track record and is available for both plaintiff and defense representation.

Vapor Emissions from Building Materials Mold Contamination and Remediation Metals and Bacteria in Wastewater Construction Runoff and Sedimentation Pipeline Rupture

Superfund Communities Industrial Contamination PCBs AFFF / PFCs Aerosol Exposure and Lung Damage

For additional information, please consult Dr. Crawford's resume.