In response to a lawsuit between a railroad and several lead mining companies regarding the
allocation of remediation costs associated with lead in soil at several rail yard sites,
we provided testifying and consulting expert witness services to the lead mining companies.
The railroad claimed that the lead mining companies transport of lead ore concentrate
from their mines to the smelter was the sole source of lead at these sites. However,
as part of our opinions in the case we identified and documented several other sources of lead
at these sites including:
– the use of lead-containing chat as ballast material,
– historical impacts of leaded gasoline from high traffic highways near the sites,
– the use of lead paint during the repair of rail cars at these sites, and
– soil contamination from lead containing ball bearings and grease during rail car repairs at these sites.
In addition, we provided opinions on whether the site investigation and
remediation were performed consistent with federal and state guidance and
whether the soil concentration data collected at these sites was sufficient for differentiating the
several sources of lead identified at these sites.