Worker died after he fell through the roof of The Engine Room restaurant while working on an air conditioning unit

Worker dies from fall through roof

From Staff Reports

SEPTEMBER 27, 2016
 

DALTON, GEORGIA

The 21-year-old man who fell through the roof of a local restaurant while working on an air conditioning unit died Monday night from his injuries.

Whitfield County Sheriff's Office authorities confirmed Dustin James Jennings died from injuries sustained when he fell through a hole in the roof of the Engine Room restaurant on Waring Road off of Cleveland Highway. Jennings worked for Chatsworth company Arctic Air, which according to the company's Facebook page is owned by the Jennings family.

Lt. Nancy Chadwick said the death was purely accidental as Jennings was working alone on the roof. The accident happened around 2 p.m. on Monday. Jennings was taken to Hamilton Medical Center.

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Man dies while installing restaurant air conditioner 

Posted: Sep 27, 2016 3:29 PM EST Updated: Sep 28, 2016 8:09 AM EST
By Chris Brantley, Web Producer/Weekend Assignment Manager


WHITFIELD COUNTY, GA (WRCB) -

A Chatsworth man died Monday after he fell through the roof of a Dalton restaurant while installing a new air conditioner.

A Whitfield County Sheriff's Office deputy was dispatched to the Engine Room restaurant on Waring Road, responding to a report of a man that fell through the roof.

The deputy spoke with an employee who stated that she was in the kitchen working with her mother, when she hard a loud commotion in the common area. She and her mother rushed outside and saw a man, later identified as 21-year-old Dustin Jennings lying on the ground. She called 911 and they instructed her to start CPR.

Officials say a co-worker of Jennings said he was in the bathroom when Jennings fell through the top of the roof. The co-worker stated he heard a loud

The cause of the incident has been ruled Accidental Death or Injury.

Earth’s Atmospheric CO2 Levels Have Crossed The 400 PPM Red Line

Climate Change: Earth’s Atmospheric CO2 Levels Have Permanently Crossed The 400 PPM Red Line
By Avaneesh Pandey 

On 09/28/16 AT 7:16 AM


In May 2013, the carbon dioxide monitoring station at Mauna Loa, Hawaii, recorded a major milestone — the concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide had crossed the symbolic “red line” of 400 parts per million for the first time since record-keeping began. Then, earlier this year, for the first time in 4 million years, carbon dioxide levels at the South Pole passed the threshold of 400 ppm.

Now, scientists at the Mauna Loa Observatory have revealed another sobering finding. This September — usually a month when the atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide are at their lowest levels in the northern hemisphere, the level of the greenhouse gas remained stubbornly above the 400 ppm.

This measurement all but ensures that monthly carbon dioxide levels won’t drop below 400 ppm any time in the foreseeable future.

This September, which is usually a period when the atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide are at their lowest levels in the northern hemisphere, the level of the greenhouse gas remained stubbornly above the symbolic “red line” of 400 ppm. Photo: Scripps Institute for Oceanography/Mauna Loa Observatory

“Is it possible that October 2016 will yield a lower monthly value than September and dip below 400 ppm? Almost impossible. Over the past two decades, there were four years (2002, 2008, 2009, and 2012) in which the monthly value for October was lower than September. But in those years, the decrease from September to October was at most 0.45 ppm — which would not seem to be enough to push October values below 400 ppm this year,” Ralph Keeling, the current program director of the Scripps Institute for Oceanography’s carbon dioxide monitoring program, wrote in a blog post. “The monthly value for October will therefore almost certainly also stay above 400 ppm and probably will be higher than 401 ppm.”

“At best, one might expect a balance in the near term and so CO2 levels probably wouldn't change much — but would start to fall off in a decade or so,” Gavin Schmidt, NASA’s chief climate scientist, told Climate Central via an email. “In my opinion, we won’t ever see a month below 400 ppm.”
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This is extremely worrying, especially as it comes close on the heels of a study that extends the global temperature record to two million years in the past, and predicts — somewhat controversially — that the average global temperatures may increase by roughly 5 degrees Celsius (9 degrees Fahrenheit) over the next few millennia, no matter what we do.

“This is not an exact prediction or a forecast,” lead author Carolyn Snyder told Nature. “The experiment we as humans are doing is very different than what we saw in the past.”

Although the predictions made in the study have been met with skepticism, there are certain future scenarios that are generally accepted. One of them is that given the current trajectory of emissions, it is only a matter of time before pre-industrial levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide — approximately 280 parts per million — is doubled. The other is that if this happens, there is nothing that can be realistically done to keep the rise in global temperatures to below 2 degrees Celsius — something that last year’s Paris climate treaty commits to.

Since the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century, the level of atmospheric carbon dioxide has been steadily increasing. The 400 ppm level, while largely symbolic, is a number climate scientists agree is a red line that should never have been crossed, given that it is way higher than the “safe” level of 350 ppm.

A man and woman, and their pet, were all found dead at Chickamauga Lake from suspected carbon monoxide poisoning.

TWRA: Boaters died from suspected carbon monoxide poisoning

WKRN web staff Published: September 27, 2016, 4:06 pm Updated: September 27, 2016, 4:07 pm

CROSSVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) – Authorities said a man and woman, and their pet, were all found dead at Chickamauga Lake from suspected carbon monoxide poisoning.

According to a release from the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, Kristy James and Mike Richardson, both of Chattanooga, were reported missing earlier in the day by a concerned family member.

Authorities said the two boaters had not been heard from since Saturday.

The Hamilton County Sheriff’s Department located their boat near Harrison Island around 10:45 a.m. Tuesday. Authorities said James, Richardson and their pet were discovered deceased on-board.

Their bodies was taken to the medical examiner’s officer. An investigation is continuing.

The TWRA confirms three previous fatalities resulting from carbon monoxide poisoning since 2010. Enclosed cabin boats were involved in all of the incidents.

The 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill caused widespread erosion in the salt marshes along the coasts of Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi

Gulf Coast oil spill damage could be lasting

By The Washington Post | Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2016, 11:10 p.m.


The 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill has been called one of the worst environmental disasters in American history — and more than six years later, scientists are still investigating how much damage it actually caused. Now, a new study suggests the spill may have permanently marred one of the Gulf of Mexico shore's most important ecosystems.

The study, published Tuesday in the journal Scientific Reports, finds the oil spill caused widespread erosion in the salt marshes along the coasts of Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi. And the researchers say there's a chance these marshes might never completely grow back.

Marshes “provide a variety of important services,” said lead study author Brian Silliman , a marine conservation biologist at Duke University. “They benefit humans, including acting as pollution filters, absorbing nutrients as they run off from the land before they get into the estuary, helping to suppress harmful algal blooms. They also act as breakwaters and buffer the shoreline from erosion.”

They're also important carbon sinks — in fact, research suggests that coastal wetlands may absorb several times more carbon per unit of area than tropical forests do. And they also provide habitat to a wide variety of animals that are staples of human fisheries.

So scientists have been concerned about how the marshes fared after the oil spill, believed to have affected at least 1,300 miles of shoreline from Texas to Florida.

For the new study, the researchers investigated the relationship between the amount of oil that ended up on marsh grasses following the spill and how much these marshes eroded in the years since. Specifically, they looked at the height of the grasses and how high on the stems oil was found at each location. They analyzed data taken from more than 100 sites in Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi.

The researchers found that marshes with low or moderate levels of oiling did not erode any faster than usual. But in places where oil covered at least 90 percent of the plant stems, erosion rates accelerated significantly. The study suggested that erosion in these places was more than three times higher than in marshes with no oil at all., and on average was about 1.4 meters per year higher than normal. These elevated erosion rates persisted for up to two years following the spill.

The results suggest that marshes have a kind of threshold beyond which the effects of the oil begin to manifest themselves. And in the places that are hit the hardest, the effects can be significant.

“Identifying thresholds is something that ecologists and conservation biologists and policymakers are focused on in all ecosystems right now,” Silliman said. “Understanding that breaking point can help them in restoration, conservation. We know some of these systems will be able to take some disturbance, but that threshold — that's where it can break down and the losses can be permanent.”

And at some of the study sites, these changes may very well be irreversible, Silliman noted. Past a certain point of erosion, the edge of the marsh moves beyond the low-tide point, and it becomes difficult for the grasses to grow back.

Active restoration efforts — that is, physically restoring the sediments that were eroded away — could give the marshes a shot at returning. But otherwise, Silliman said, “the chance of natural recovery is very slim at best.”

The study “documents one of the largest declines in an ecosystem following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill,” Silliman said. But other research suggests that marsh grasses certainly aren't the only organisms that have suffered.

A report released by conservation organization Oceana earlier this year synthesized research pointing to a wide range of effects. Endangered sea turtles, bottlenose dolphins, coral reefs, shorebirds and all kinds of fish suffered increased mortality, developmental defects or reproductive declines as a result of exposure to the oil. And our understanding of these consequences may continue to grow, as there are still scientists conducting ongoing research on the changes along the Gulf shore. 



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Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Caused Widespread Marsh Erosion, Study Shows

September 27, 2016 




Oil from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico killed marsh grasses where it washed ashore in Louisiana’s Barataria Bay. (Credit: Duke Univ.)


DURHAM, N.C. -- The Deepwater Horizon oil spill six years ago caused widespread marsh erosion that may be permanent in some places, according to a new Duke University-led analysis of 270 miles of the Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama coasts.

At the hardest-hit of 103 Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) sites, where oil covered more than 90 percent of plants’ stems, widespread die-off of grasses at the marsh edge occurred, followed by up to two years of accelerated erosion as dying plant roots lost their grip on marsh soil.

Erosion rates at these heavily oiled sites were between 1.4 and 1.6 meters per year higher than scientists had expected, based on findings from similar areas that weren’t hit with oil.

The April 20, 2010 explosion on the Deepwater Horizon offshore oil rig killed 11 workers and pumped more than 100 million gallons of crude oil into the northern Gulf of Mexico, making it the worst environmental disaster of its kind in U.S. history.

“Marshes that experienced elevated erosion due to high levels of oiling didn’t recover; they’re now gone, having been converted to mudflats in the shallow underwater environment of the Gulf,” said Brian R. Silliman, Rachel Carson Associate Professor of Marine Conservation Biology at Duke’s Nicholas School of the Environment, who led the new large-scale analysis.

The outlook is more optimistic for marshes where oil covered less than 90 percent of plant stems.

“In these marshes, erosion rates did not accelerate, likely reflecting less oil impact,” Silliman said. “So long as the marsh platform elevation is sufficient and the rooting system of the vegetation is healthy and intact, these marshes could potentially recover over time.”

The team’s research, published Sept. 27 in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Scientific Reports, is the first empirical study to identify the threshold at which spill-induced marsh erosion occurred across a large geographic area. They used data collected as part of the NRDA, which was conducted by state and federal Natural Resource Trustees in the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon spill.

Various sources have estimated that between 60 and 100 linear kilometers of salt marsh experienced plant stem oiling above the 90 percent threshold because of the Deepwater Horizon spill.

“Our analysis reveals that accelerated erosion, and likely land loss, occurred in these areas,” Silliman said.

Most of the erosion occurred within one to two years after the spill, he noted. Once the erosion front -- created by the black belt of oil that layered over and killed grass on the marsh edge -- ran into healthy vegetation farther back, the land loss due to erosion slowed.

The new findings corroborate an earlier study led by Silliman that showed elevated erosion at a limited number of heavily oiled sites. They also support studies led by Mark Hester and Jonathan Willis at the University of Louisiana’s Institute for Coastal and Water Research, which found that there was widespread die-back of marsh plants at these sites.

“Given the vital roles coastal salt marshes play in protecting shorelines from erosion and flooding, providing habitat for wildlife and helping clean our water, scientists need to understand the thresholds of salt marsh resilience to human disturbances like oil,” Silliman said. “By identifying the 90 percent threshold above which spill-induced erosion occurs, our study provides key knowledge to more accurately predict loss of marsh ecosystems following future spills.”

The study was conducted by scientists at Duke; Iowa State University; the University of California-Santa Cruz; the University of Louisiana at Lafayette; Abt Associates of Boulder, Colo.; and the Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras of Mar del Plata, Argentina with funding from the State of Louisiana, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, British Petroleum, the National Science Foundation, the Stolarz Foundation, and the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative.

CITATION: “Thresholds in Marsh Resilience to the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill,” Brian R. Silliman, Philip M. Dixon, Cameron Wobus, Qiang He, Pedro Daleo, Brent B. Hughes, Jonathan M. Willis, Mark W. Hester. Nature Scientific Reports, Sept. 27, 2016. DOI: 10.1038/srep32520

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Metropolitan Engineering, Consulting, Forensics, and Environmental Remediation Services. Construction, Investigation, Remediation and Forensic Expert Engineers

 Metropolitan Engineering, Consulting, Forensics, and Environmental Remediation Services.

Construction Defects, Construction Claims, Engineering, Property & Casualty Investigations, Assessment, Site Investigation, Remediation, Litigation and Indoor-Air Expert Engineers

Bill Stephan, PhD, PE, CIH, CHMM, JD, MBA

Principal Engineer

P.O. Box 520

Tenafly, New Jersey 07670-0520

Phone: (973) 897-8162

Fax: (973) 810-0440

E-mail: metroforensics@gmail.com

__________________________________________________

Firm Overview

The engineering and forensic firm of Metropolitan Forensics and Consulting Engineering and Environmental Services was established for the purpose of providing a high value service to the insurance industry and to the insured companies or individuals. Our founding principal (Bill Stephan) is a licensed professional engineer in several states, including, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Delaware.

We specialize in the in-situ remediation of petroleum and chlorinated spills, the defense of liability claims, the investigation and defense of first or third party insurance claims and the handling of subrogation claims.  We are also experts on oil and gas energy sector issues (design, investigations, construction oversight), renewable energy sector (wind turbines, solar panels, biofuels, etc), vapor intrusion evaluation, vapor phase and transport and in design on vapor mitigation systems.  Additionally, we offer forensic engineering services, including age-dating of contaminant releases, construction defects, oversight, evaluation of remedial alternatives, sub-slab ventilation system design and installation.  The list of our core services is:

• Cause and Origin Investigations
• Construction Failure Analysis (Residential, Industrial and Commercial)
• Structural Integrity Evaluation
  
• Site Investigation
• Tank removals and tank installations; licensed and insured to perform entire UST work
  
• In-Situ Remediation of Soil and Groundwater
  
• Vapor intrusion, indoor air evaluation and mitigation
  
• Causation
• Forensic Investigations (age-dating)
• Oversight
• Review of Remedial Action Work Plans
• Reserve Estimation
• Cost Allocation
• RAWP Preparation
• Site Remediation
• Cleanup Level Development and Negotiation
• Subrogation
• Expert Witness/Litigation Support
• Licensed Site Remediation Professional (LSRP) Services
• Construction Claims (Delay, Differing Site Conditions, Loss of Productivity, Acceleration, and others)
  

 





















Additional Specialty Service Areas

Age Dating
Boilers & Burners
Bridges
Building Codes
Building Inspections

Construction Accident
   Reconstruction
Construction Defects
Construction Delay Claims
Construction Surety Claims
Construction Disputes
Construction Differing Condition Claims
Construction Oversight
Construction Management
Construction Acceleration Claims

Construction Failures
Construction Injuries
Contractor Performance Issues
Corrosion

Defective Designs
Defective Roadway Design
   Evaluations

Earthquake
Electrical Accidents/Injuries
Electrical Equipment Failures
Electrical Fires
Elevators, Escalators
   & Conveyors
Embedded Software Hazards
   & Analysis
Equipment Failures
Errors and Omissions
Explosions
Failure Analysis
Fire
Fire Codes
Fire Protection Systems
Fire Suppression Systems
Flood Damage Assessment

Foundation Systems

Gas Systems
Hailstorm damage

Heating & Ventilation Systems
Heavy Construction
Highway/Roadway Design
Human Factors

Indoor Air Quality
Laboratory Services
Ladders, Scaffolding Falls
   & Failures
Lightning

Mechanical Defect Evaluations
Metallurgical Age Dating
Mold Causation
Natural Disasters/Weather
   Related Issues
Nuclear Energy
Occupational Hazards
   & Illness
Piping
Playground Equipment Injuries
Plumbing
Product Failures
Roofing Problems & Failures
Safety Codes
Safety & Human Factors
   Engineering
Scalding
Scene Mapping and Photographs
Sick Building Syndrome
Sports Equipment Injuries
Standardized Codes
Steam Systems
Subrogation Issues

Transportation Issues
Trips, Slips & Falls
Underground Storage Tanks
Utilities Expertise
Vibration
Water Damage
Windstorm

Mission Statement

Our mission is to work as an extension of our clients to expeditiously achieve the most economically favorable resolution of claims on their behalf and on behalf of their insured. We have developed and will continue to create new solutions to the technical problems and issues which are facing the insurance industry and the insureds today.  

Metropolitan provides forensic engineering work (age-dating or fingerprinting), site remediation, auditing, cost control and litigation support services to insurance carriers, their insureds and to private or public companies.  In its risk management role, examines, manages and audits environmental claims to ensure that assessment and remediation services provided to both carriers and policy holders are reasonable and necessary, properly rendered and appropriately charged. 

In its litigation support role, Metropolitan assists carriers and their counsel to ensure that litigious disputes are resolved fairly and reimbursement benefits are provided when appropriate.  The corporations service area includes the entire United States, with our corporate office located in Northern New Jersey.  The Firm's professional staff also travels regularly throughout the United States on assignment.

Forensics at Metropolitan

There are many issues associated with disputes over responsibility for cleanup. Who, what, when, where, and how chemicals were released can be investigated. The tools of forensic investigation include mathematical models, statistical models, fate and transport calculations, chromatography, lead isotope analyses, time of travel assessments, library search site characterization, tracer additives, and recently developed software applications.

Effective forensic project management should include an evaluation of multiple forensic tools based on site specific circumstances. The process of evaluation and the ultimate selection of the forensic tool are critical to a successful outcome. When project budgets allow, combining forensic methods for corroborative evidence can substantially strengthen your client’s position in an effort to prevent or support litigation. The effective forensic consultant must be well acquainted with an ever expanding list of analytical methods, environmental regulations, assessment procedures and remedial technologies.

The forensic field is one that utilizes a wide range of scientific tools to identify and characterize complex adverse environmental events. Some of the scientific disciplines involved in forensics include engineering principles (biological, physical and chemical), hydrology, lithology, geology, site history, site practices, mathematics, and statistics. These areas may be combined with technologies such as respiratory analyses, chromatography/mass spectrometry and chemical fingerprinting methods to answer complex questions with the ultimate goal of establishing responsibility for a particular event. Accurate, defensible forensic analyses are an essential component of any strategy that attempts to resolve the extent of the insurer or insured client responsibilities in the cleanup of contaminants.

Contact us online or call 973-897-8162 to learn more about our forensic services.

Property Damage Services at Metropolitan

Metropolitan assists property owners, claims professionals, businesses, and attorneys in   the assessment of the cause & origin (C&O), extent of damage and required restoration after pipe bursts, settlements, manufacturing and construction failures, fire, flood, earthquake, or storm damage.  Our teams of engineers have extensive experience in the many systems that make up a building including structural, mechanical and electrical systems.   We also have the necessary background to evaluate property damage to items such as communications towers or solar panels. We can help determine alternative, appropriate, and cost effective solutions for repair or restoration of any damaged property, both commercial and residential. 

Providing Competent, Expert and Objective Investigative Engineering and Consulting Services.

Our experts are multi-skilled, competent, and objective professionals who apply their analytical and common sense skills to reconstruct, determine the root cause, and document the events that give rise to property, casualty, and liability claims.  Thorough investigations and detailed measurements/research help us distinguish between pre-existing conditions and sudden and accidental losses.

 






























Our investigations are:

·         Comprehensive & Accurate

·         Legible & Easy to Understand

·         Timely Performed

·         Delivered Quickly

·         Cost Effective

·         Clear & Concise

·         Developed by Professionals

·         Dependable

·         Our own uniform reporting system saves time and money.

Our Fast Track Investigation and Uniform Format Reporting systems allow us to conduct and deliver a comprehensive response to the assigned claim.  In most cases, we will obtain findings based on a site visit, visual observations, photographs, interviews, and field measurements.  Further investigations and testing will be provided upon request and approval by the client.

Forensic Investigation of Property Damage Claims

Metropolitan Consulting, Engineering & Forensics understands your need to complete a claim investigation accurately and efficiently as possible.  Whether it is accident reconstruction, damage due to environmental forces such as wind, water, hail, snow, tornado, etc.; fire origin & cause investigation or any other claim, the engineers at Metropolitan understand both you and your client want to resolve the claim.  The analysis you receive from Metropolitan will be accurate and complete, giving you the information needed in the claim adjustment and analysis.

Our services have extended beyond the forensic analysis phase into the remediation and repair phase of many large loss claims.  Upon the completion of the cause and origin (C&O) investigation, Metropolitan can provide our clients with complete working drawings and specifications needed to repair or rebuilt damaged buildings or other structures.  Metropolitan Consulting & Engineering’ staff possesses many-many years of experience in rehabilitation design, construction management, and project oversight to ensure the loss is restored in a timely and cost-effective manner without sacrificing quality.  Building code knowledge allows us to identify possible code upgrades as needed.  Metropolitan understands constructability and realizes making an insured whole goes beyond forensic investigation and design. We pride ourselves in providing practical solutions contractors can understand and follow.

At the forefront of available technology, we provide professionals and staff capable of handling a variety of engineering evaluations.  Our reports are clear, concise, complete and efficiently produced.  Our engineering objectives are achieved in an ethical manner consistent with the traditions and character of engineering professionals.

Contact us online or call 973-897-8162 to learn more about our property damage services.

Extensive Experience helping Sureties

Metropolitan also has extensive experience helping sureties fulfill their bond obligations resolve disputes after a contractor has defaulted.  This work includes the evaluation of contractor bid pricing, evaluation of the contractor’s ability to perform work, risk assessment, evaluation of termination, construction completion services, claim and litigation support services, loss recovery services, evaluation of payment bond claims, negotiation and settlement of payment bond claims, and construction defects investigation services.  Metropolitan has provided these services for commercial, development, educational, and assisted living projects.

Construction is a business fraught with risk.  Disputes over even the smallest of issues can quickly escalate, with crippling consequences to the project and the parties.  Over the years, the construction industry has developed various methods of contractually allocating the risk of project delay and disruption.  Some of these methods include liquidated damages provisions, "no damages for delay" clauses, mutual waivers of consequential damages, provisions that limit liability, claims notice provisions, and provisions addressing responsibility for the adequacy of the construction plans and specifications.  Parties frequently litigate the sufficiency of these risk-shifting efforts in conjunction with the underlying merits of delay and disruption disputes.

Construction Claims & Disputes

The most frequently encountered claims include:

1.            Construction Delay Claims

2.            Disruption and Loss of Labor Productivity Claims

3.            Design and Construction Defect Claims

4.            Force Majeure Claims

5.            Acceleration or Compression of the Schedule Claims

6.            Suspension, Termination and Default Claims

7.            Differing Site Conditions Claims

8.            Change Order and Extra Work Claims

9.            Cost Overrun Claims

10.         Unacceptable Workmanship or Substituted Material Claims

11.         Non-payment Claims (stop notice (or Notice to Withhold) claims, mechanics’ lien (only for private construction projects) and payment bond claims)

Forensic Engineering Experience Case Studies

Metropolitan staff has developed and utilized scientific methods to assist clients in a variety of ways related to their claim issues. The following is a partial list of such projects:

• Provided expert witness services for plaintiff seeking remediation of contaminated groundwater that caused indoor air inhalation problems;
• Testified that engineering and scientific evidence was improperly collected and analyzed and was inadequate to show the age of the release;
• Origin and cause of retaining wall failures.  
• Lightning damage to structures or electrical systems and equipment
• Roof failure or collapse as a result of accumulated load, additional weight and snow drift at hundreds of commercial and residential properties.
• Demonstrated that solvents in groundwater at client's property originated from off-site dry-cleaner and that client's site actually provided remediation for the off-site release of dry cleaning solvent;
• Expert witness for property owner impacted by industrial waste disposal from industrial manufacturer;
• Demonstrated that environmental analysis by a previous consultant for a manufacturing site was inadequate; as a result, the lender's concerns were alleviated and financing proceeded;
• Chemical "age-dating" and contaminant transport analyses of petroleum in groundwater at a gas station showed that contaminants originated from other parties;
• Age-dated petroleum release at a former gas station to show that the previous owner of the gas station caused groundwater contamination;
• Age-dated petroleum releases at an industrial facility to show that the on-site plume was the result of an off-site source;
• Prepared age-dating reports for over one-hundred residential fuel oil spills;
• Assisted insurance companies attorneys in defending subrogation claims; was able to demonstrate that the forensic data collected by the first party consultant were collected and analyzed using invalid methods;
• Demonstrated that structural damage to a residence was from a source other than the alleged high lake level
• Collected evidence (for the primary responsible party) that identified other responsible parties to share in the cost of a Superfund cleanup;
• Review of the site data at a bulk petroleum facility indicated that the site releases were not the result of regular oil transfer operations and that they were caused by the negligent actions of the insured’s agents; the case was settled in favor of the insurance company;
• Was able to demonstrate that the majority of the removal actions at petroleum release sites were neither reasonable nor necessary; as a result of our opinion, the insurance client settled the claim in favorable terms;
• At several drycleaner sites we were able to demonstrate that the age of the release was much earlier than the parties originally believed; as a result, the insurance client settled the claim at a fraction of the alleged liability;
• We performed numerous flood and wind damage assessments at commercial and residential properties.

Contact us online or call 973-897-8162 to learn more about our forensic engineering services.

Site Remediation Services

 Characterizing and remediating contaminated sites involve some of the most complex and difficult issues for environmental lawyers and their clients. Problem areas include responding to regulators; negotiating enforcement settlements; negotiating or litigating cost allocation and recovery claims; working with the insured or insurer client, lawyers and regulators to develop efficient, cost-effective remediation approaches; and selling, buying, or developing contaminated properties.

Metropolitan staff has developed and applied an innovative approach to the use of sodium persulfate for the sequential in-situ treatment of subsurface contaminants through chemical oxidation followed by enhanced biological degradation through sulfate reduction. This approach has broad applicability to a wide range of contaminants, and shows strong cost-saving benefits through reducing the initial volume of chemical oxidant necessary and enhancing the in-situ biological degradation of contaminants.

Through proper subsurface geochemical characterization and chemical dosing design, the approach focuses on utilizing the oxidant for immediate mass reduction at the source area, followed by degradation or polishing of the residual contamination using sulfate reducing bacteria.  Depending upon the oxidant activation method, this approach is applicable to petroleum hydrocarbons including both volatiles and PAHs, chlorinated volatile organic compounds (CVOCs) including chlorinated ethene, ethane and methane groups, as well as PCBs.

Contact us online or call 973-897-8162 to learn more about our Site Remediation Services.

Vapor Intrusion and Indoor-Air Studies

Vapor intrusion has received increased attention over the last few years near contaminated sites because some contaminants have the potential to migrate into nearby buildings and negatively affect indoor air quality. The accumulation of these volatile vapors in buildings can result in significant safety and health concerns.
To properly evaluate vapor intrusion a thorough evaluation of the building's ventilation system and subsurface conditions needs to be conducted by a knowledgeable professional in accordance with state and federal established procedures. 
The evaluation process typically includes a thorough building chemical inventory, the advancement of soil gas probes and the collection of soil gas samples. When indoor air quality problems are identified they can normally be resolved through the modification/installation of a properly designed ventilation system.
Metropolitan is well experienced with U.S. EPA and State vapor intrusion investigation techniques. We have completed numerous vapor intrusion and indoor air quality studies at commercial and residential properties. We have the experience to identify and resolve indoor vapor intrusion problems and the practical know-how to resolve indoor quality issues in an efficient and cost effective manner.
Contact us online or call 973-897-8162 to learn more about our Vapor Intrusion and Indoor Air Studies.

Metropolitan Engineering, Consulting, Forensics, and Environmental Remediation Services.

Construction, Investigation, Remediation and Forensic Expert  Engineers

P.O. Box 520

Tenafly, New Jersey 07670-0520

Ph.: (973) 897-8162

Fax: (973) 810-0440

metroforensics@gmail.com

Contact: Dr. Bill N. Stephan, PhD, PE, JD, CIH, MBA, CHMM

Insurance claim examiners, insureds, insurers, insurance adjusters and risk managers use Metropolitan for determining cause, evaluating the extent of damage, determining the age of the release, separating unrelated damage, analyzing loss scopes and managing restoration data, determining costs to repair, restore or replace, and preparing for insurance appraisals.

Attorneys call on Metropolitan for help when preparing for Litigation and Alternative Dispute Resolution such as arbitration and mediation