Expert Profile
I have many years of continuous scientific and technical experience in environmental science, chemistry, biology, exploratory data analysis, ground water, surface water, soils, sediments, subsurface, and air. I have addressed environmental sites across the U. S. with regard to chemistry, sampling, hydrogeology, ecology, contaminant transport, fate, and remediation, exploratory and inferential data analysis and validation, and solving a variety of environmental problems. I am experienced in management, client relations, leadership and mentoring, research and development, and environmental health and safety.
Before restarting my consulting company I spent nearly six years doing environmental consulting as a Senior Project Scientist and Manager at a Michigan company. I operated my own consulting company for the previous nine years. Prior to that, I spent eleven years performing subsurface research and ground water investigations at the Robert S. Kerr Environmental Research Center of the U. S. EPA National Risk Management Research Laboratory, doing environmental research while also functioning as the QA/QC coordinator. Previously I worked for eleven years at the Oklahoma Geological Survey, University of Oklahoma, as an analytical chemist working with both aqueous and solid-phase environmental media, including coal, rocks, soils, surface water, and interstitial water from the Deep Sea Drilling Project.
I have authored at least thirty-seven publications and book chapters, given more than fifty presentations, posters and abstracts for meetings, and prepared countless reports for various projects. I have a B. S. in Zoology (with essentially a chemistry minor) and a M. S. in Environmental science.
***** & Associates Science Services. Senior Scientist - Owner. ***** & Associates Science Services was founded in 1997 as a consulting company offering detailed environmental expertise primarily in ground water systems. Today PASS has expertise in all environmental media, including ground water, soils, surface water and air. Additionally, we have extended our services framework to provide our scientific capabilities to other branches of science and business. PASS is now located in SE Michigan, in the heart o*****, and understands the the issues faced by industry, stakeholders, tribes, state, local, and federal government and the dynamic interactions of these groups. In addition to technical scientific skills, PASS has substantial experience negotiating conflict resolution through increased understanding of the issues and finding common ground upon which all groups can comfortably stand.
Horizon Environmental Corporation. Senior Project Scientist/Project Manager, 5.5 years. Horizon was an environmental consulting company where I served as an expert witness on complex soil contamination cases, developed a sampling plan for a lake and its sediments for a tribal government, reviewed and advised on a large Brownfields cement kiln dust site having leachate impacts on Lake Michigan for another tribal government, evaluated several sites for both characterization and remediation approaches using EDA, assessed the design and planned implementation of a novel subsurface permeable reactive barrier for a state government, developed sampling guidance for combustion of recycled input materials to a large industrial client to reduce fossil fuel consumption, provided chemistry support on the volatilization of organic compounds and the emissions calculations for air modeling of a volatile pesticide release, and facilitated and managed many other projects, including NPDES review, development and oversight.
Prior to Horizon I did research at the U.S. EPA's Robert S. Kerr Environmental Research Center of the National Risk Management Research Laboratory for 10 years, publishing on low-flow and passive groundwater sampling, permeable reactive barriers, colloidal contaminant transport, and a variety of other topics. Prior to that I worked as an Analytical Chemist for 10 years at the Oklahoma Geological Survey.
M.S. Environmental Science, University of Oklahoma, Norman OK, 1994.
Thesis: Geochemical Effects on Chromate Reduction and Remediation Utilizing the Thermodynamic Instability of Zero-Valence-State Iron
B.S. Zoology, University of Oklahoma, Norman OK, 1980.
President's Award for Excellence, 1995, ManTech Environmental Technology, Inc.
Scientific and Technological Achievement Award, Level III, U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1996
Two-time winner of the Performance Incentive Program Award, ManTech Environmental Technology, Inc.
Mensa
In addition to the previously listed areas of expertise and routine client reports, I have authored the following publications:
37. *****, R.M. “Exploratory Data Analysis: Reality-Based Results For Defensible Science and Litigation Support.” Paper 435. Proceedings of the 2009 (102nd) A&WMA Annual Conference. Detroit, MI.
36. *****, R. M., Pugh, J., and B. Hensel. 2007. “Groundwater Remediation of Inorganic Constituents at Coal Combustion Product Management Sites, Technology Review.” Electric Power Research Institute Report *****.
35. *****, R.M. 2005. “Techniques for Ground Water Sampling.” Invited chapter for the Environmental Instrumentation and Analysis Handbook. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York. Down, R.D. and J. Lehr, eds. pp. 1068.
34. *****, R.M. and R.W. Puls. 2003. “Technology Update: Current Status of the Practice for Permeable Reactive Barrier Technology Applications.” U.S. EPA Report for Issue Paper.
33. *****, R.M., *****, P.D., and R.W. Puls. 2002. "Economic Analysis of the Implementation of Permeable Reactive Barriers for Remediation of Contaminated Ground Water." U.S. EPA. EPA/600/R-02/034. June 2002.
32. Puls, R.W., *****, R.M., Paul, C.J., and D.W. Blowes. 1999. “Ground Water Remediation of Chromium Using Zero-Valent Iron in a Permeable Reactive Barrier: Laboratory and Field Study Results.” Chapter 13 in ACS Symposium Series 725, Innovative Subsurface Remediation, Field Testing of Innovative Remediation Technologies. pp. *****.
31. *****, R.M., Puls, R.W. 1998. “Natural Attenuation of Arsenic.” U.S. EPA Report for Issue Paper.
30. *****, R.M., Shen, H., and G.W. Sewell. 1998. “Bioattenuation of Redox-Sensitive Metals.” U.S. EPA Report for Issue Paper.
29. *****, R.M., Puls, R.W., Blowes, D., Vogan, J., Gillham, R.W., *****, P.D., Schultz, D., Landis, R., and T. Sivavec. 1998. “Permeable Reactive Barrier Technologies for Contaminant Remediation.” U.S. EPA Report. EPA/600/R-98/125.
28. Puls, R.W., *****, R.M., and C.J. Paul. 1998. “Contaminant Reduction and Remediation Using Zero-Valent Iron in Permeable Reactive Subsurface Barriers: Reactions, Geochemical Effects, and Pilot-Scale Field Studies.” U.S. EPA Report for Environmental Research Brief.
27. *****, R.M. and P.D. *****. 1998. “Iron Metal for Subsurface Remediation.” Invited chapter for The Encyclopedia of Environmental Analysis and Remediation. Robert A. Myers, ed. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York. 8:*****.
26. *****, R.M. and R.W. Puls. July 1997. “Permeable Reactive Subsurface Barriers for the Interception and Remediation of Chlorinated Hydrocarbon and Chromium (VI) Plumes in Ground Water.” U.S. EPA Remedial Technology Fact Sheet. EPA/600/F-97/008.
25. *****, R.M. and R.W. Puls. 1997. “Proton Generation by Dissolution of Intrinsic or Augmented Aluminosilicate Minerals for In Situ Contaminant Remediation by Zero-Valence-State Iron.” Environmental Science & Technology. 31:*****.
24. *****, R.M. and R.W. Puls. June 1997. “Hitting the Bull’s-Eye in Groundwater Sampling.” Cover Article, Pollution Engineering. *****.
23. Caughey, M.E., Barcelona, M.J., *****, R.M., Cahill, R.A., Gron, C., Lawrenz, D., and P.L. Meschi. 1995. “Interlaboratory Study of a Method for Determining Nonvolatile Organic Carbon in Aquifer Materials.” Environmental Geology. 26:*****.
22. *****, R.M., Puls, R.W., Hightower, S.K., and D.A. Sabatini. 1995. “Coupled Iron Corrosion and Chromate Reduction: Mechanisms for Subsurface Remediation.” Environmental Science and Technology. 29:*****.
21. Puls, R.W., *****, R.M., and D.A. Clark. 1994. “Assessment of Colloidal Transport in Ground Water, Pinal Creek Basin, Arizona.” Chapter C in Hydrology and Geochemistry of Aquifer and Stream Contamination Related to Acidic Water in Pinal Creek Basin near Globe, Arizona. U.S. Geological Survey Water-Supply Paper, AZ*****. 12/1/94. Brown, J. G. & B. Favor, eds.
20. *****, R.M. 1994. “Geochemical Effects on Chromate Reduction and Remediation Utilizing the Thermodynamic Instability of Zero-Valence-State Iron.” Thesis, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK.
19. *****, R.M., Puls, R.W., and C.J. Paul. 1994. “Chromate Reduction and Remediation Utilizing the Thermodynamic Instability of Zero-Valence-State Iron.” Water Environment Federation Specialty Conference Series, Innovative Solutions for Contaminated Site Management. March 6-9. Miami, FL.
18. *****, R.M. and R.W. Puls. 1993. “Passive Sampling of Ground Water Monitoring Wells Without Purging: Multilevel Well Chemistry and Tracer Disappearance.” Journal of Contaminant Hydrology. 12:*****.
17. Puls, R.W. and R.M. *****. 1992. “Acquisition of Representative Ground Water Quality Samples for Metals.” Invited paper. Ground Water Monitoring Review, Summer.
16. Puls, R.W., *****, R.M., Clark, D.A., Bledsoe, B.E., and C.J. Paul. 1992. “Metals in Ground Water: Sampling Artifacts and Reproducibility”, Hazardous Waste, Hazardous Materials. 9(2):*****.
15. Puls, R.W. and R.M. *****. 1992. “Transport of Inorganic Colloids Through Natural Aquifer Material: Implications for Contaminant Transport.” Environmental Science and Technology. 26(3):*****.
14. Puls, R.W., *****, R.M., Clark, D.A., and C.J. Eldred. 1991. “Effects of pH, Solid/Solution Ratio, Ionic Strength, and Organic Acids on Pb and Cd Sorption on Kaolinite.” Water, Soil, and Air Pollution. *****:*****.
13. Puls, R.W., *****, R.M., Clark D.A., and C.J. Paul. July 1991. “Facilitated Transport of Inorganic Contaminants in Groundwater: Part 2. Colloidal Transport.” U.S. EPA Environmental Research Brief. EPA/600/M-91/040.
12. Puls, R.W. and R.M. *****. 1991. “Electrostatic Repulsive Effects on the Mobility of Inorganic Colloids in Subsurface Systems.” Chapter 4 in Contaminant Transport in the Subsurface-Colloids and Surfactants, the 65th Annual Colloid and Surface Science Symposium, American Chemical Society. June *****. Sabatini, D. A. and R. C. Knox, eds. University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK.
11. Puls, R.W., *****, R.M., and T.F. Rees. 1991. “Stability and Transport of Inorganic Colloids Through Contaminated Aquifer Material.” Proceedings of the Fifth Annual Toxic Substances Hydrology Technical Meeting. March *****. Monterey, CA.
10. Puls, R.W. and R.M. *****. 1990. “Laboratory Studies on the Stability and Transport of Inorganic Colloids Through Natural Aquifer Material.” Concepts in Manipulation of Groundwater Colloids for Environmental Restoration. Oct. *****. Manteo, NC.
9. Puls, R.W., Eychaner, J.H., and R.M. *****. 1990. “Colloidal-Facilitated Transport of Inorganic Contaminants in Groundwater: Part 1. Sampling Considerations.” U.S. EPA Environmental Research Brief. EPA/600/M-90/023.
8. *****, R.M. 1990. “Total Organic Carbon Determinations in Natural and Contaminated Aquifer Materials, Relevance and Measurement.” Proceedings of the Fourth National Outdoor Action Conference on Aquifer Restoration, Ground water Monitoring And Geophysical Methods. National Water Well Association. May *****. Las Vegas, NV.
7. *****, R.M., Bledsoe, B.E., Johnson, R.L., and G.P. Curtis. 1989. “Interlaboratory Methods Comparison for the Total Organic Carbon Analysis of Aquifer Materials.” Environmental Science and Technology. 23:*****. (Reviewed in The Groundwater Newsletter. 18(19):2. 1989)
6. *****, R.M., Kampbell, D.H., Bledsoe, B.E., Callaway, R.W., Michalowski, J.T., Vandegrift, S.A., White, M.V., and J.T. Wilson. 1988. “Comparison of Methods to Determine Oxygen Demand for Bioremediation of a Fuel Contaminated Aquifer.” International Journal of Environmental Analytical Chemistry. 34:*****.
5. Armstrong, J.M., Korreck, W., Leach, L.E., *****, R.M., Vandegrift, S.A., and J.T. Wilson. 1988. “Bioremediation of a Fuel Spill: Evaluation of Techniques for Preliminary Site Characterization.” Proceedings of the National Water Well Association Petroleum Hydrocarbons Conference. Nov. 9-11. Houston, TX.
4. Bouchard, D.C., *****, R.M., and D.A. Clark. 1988. “Organic Cation Effects on the Retention of Metals and Neutral Organic Compounds on Aquifer Material.” Journal of Environmental Science and Health, Part A - Environmental Science and Engineering. 23(6):*****.
3. *****, R.M. 1988. “Method Comparison for the Analysis of Total Organic Carbon in Waters and Soils Utilizing the Oceanographics International Ampule Analyzer, Leco Carbon Determinator, and Dohrmann Carbon Analyzer.” Northrop Technical Report. TR-*****.
2. Bouchard, D.C., *****, R.M., and D.A. Clark. 1987. “Alkyl Ammonium Cation Effects on Aquifer Material Sorptivity.” Agronomy Abstracts. p.166.
1. *****, R.M. 1987. “Changes in Volumetric Glassware after Heating at 565°C for Carbon Removal.” EPA Quality Assurance Newsletter. 9(1).