Industrial and Environmental Chemical Forensic

Looking for Technical Assistance in Litigation Proceedings?

David Gossman, BS, MS, FAIC, CFEI, President, Gossman Consulting, Inc. can provide expert technical assistance to legal counsel in litigation involving chemical and environmental forensics, hazardous waste materials, laboratory testing, hazardous materials handling, regulatory compliance, fires and explosions, and injury or chemical exposure claims due to hazardous materials or hazardous materials operations.

Litigation Experience

The list below provides examples from some of his litigation support history. In most of these cases the dispute was settled in favor of our client shortly after submission of our expert witness report, our deposition or testimony at trial. A comprehensive list with added details is available upon request.

    Identified the nontypical source of dioxin emissions from an industrial plant and assisted counsel in defending the client company from associated enforcement action.

    Identified the causes of an explosion and fire that resulted in a fatality at a hazardous waste management facility and assisted with the defense in the resulting civil case.

    Testified at trial on behalf of plaintiffs in a case involving an industrial burn accident at an industrial furnace.

    Provided technical reports and assisted counsel during hearings regarding an adjudicated permit for an industrial plant in the state of New York.

    Testified at trial on behalf of plaintiffs in a case involving the release of oily waste from a containment structure failure.

    Provided an expert report and assisted counsel during settlement negotiation on an enforcement case brought by the federal EPA against a hazardous waste management company.

    Provided an expert report that identified the cause of an explosion and fire of a rail car containing hazardous waste derived from the process of manufacturing toluene diisocyanate.

    Provided an expert report that identified the cause of a fire and explosion in storage tanks containing flammable solvents.

    Provided an expert report and testified for over a day relative to an adjudicated permit hearing in the state of Texas for a hazardous waste management facility.

    Provided an expert report in a civil case relative to patents on a process for using waste materials in an industrial process.

    Provided an expert report in a civil environmental enforcement case on behalf of a union representing workers at the plant which was the subject of the complaint.

    Assisted counsel to prepare for a civil case relative to environmental damages to an adjoining property.

    Expert opinion letter provided relative to criminal complaint regarding violation of RCRA hazardous waste management regulations.

    Work place sampling and data interpretation provided relative to potential toxic metal worker exposure in a civil case.

    Identified the cause of and wrote an expert opinion letter regarding an explosion and fire that injured an employee at a hazardous waste management facility.

    Wrote an expert report relative to a civil cased on behalf of the injured plaintiff regarding the explosion of an aerosol can.

    Prepared a causation report on a house propane explosion.

Evidentiary Analysis Services

Incidents routinely occur as a result of poorly designed or executed maintenance procedures including:

Hiring and training practices
Laboratory methods and/or improper quality control
Sales and marketing strategies
Ambiguous or conflicting regulations
Poor or improper maintenance

Proper analysis of these and other potential causes requires both technical and operational expertise. GCI has the technical background and the needed communication skills to explain the science behind what happened and the real life operational experience to explain why it happened. Incidents that prompt litigation do not just happen, they occur as the result of a string of decisions that can often date back to the initial facility design. Even a badly written regulation may contribute to the eventual incident. Clearly GCI’s experience and expertise can be a valuable aid in preparing for litigation.

GCI provides the technical expertise and develops the evidentiary basis for legal arguments relying on or involving:

Industrial and environmental chemical forensic analysis
Hazard analysis and HAZOPs
Causation proved by fate and transport of chemicals and their degradation products in the environment.
- Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) - management, testing, QC and environmental fate
- Dioxin (polychlorinated dibenzodioxin and polychlorinated dibenzofuran) emissions and sources in the environment
Appropriate standard of care for management of hazardous waste and hazardous materials
Analytical chemistry and proper quality assurance / quality control (QA/QC)
Regulatory compliance
Safety and prevention of catastrophic events at industrial facilities such as fires and explosions
Prevention of injury or chemical exposure resulting from hazardous materials or hazardous materials operations
Prevention of chemical spills and/or proper management of historical environmental contamination

Education

David Gossman's academic background includes a BS and MS in Interdisciplinary Physical Science. His graduate program focused on Analytical Chemistry, Geophysics and Science Communication. He has extensive industrial and laboratory experience.

Hanover College - Hanover, Indiana - First 2 years of undergraduate program

Department	Course Number	Course Title
Math	131*	Calculus
	230	Math Analysis I (Theoretical Calculus)
	331	Differential Equations
	422	Foundations of Math (Set Theory)
Chemistry	113*	Introduction to Chemistry
	220	Analytical Chemistry
	225	Organic Chemistry I
	335	Physical Chemistry I
Physics	113	Foundations Physics
	202	Descriptive Astronomy
	220	An+Ap Physical Laws (Calc Based)
	325	Electricity and Magnetism
	326	E-M Fields and Waves
Geology	213*	Introduction to Geology
	321	Mineralogy
Biology	113	Elementary Biology
PE	061	Senior Lifesaving
Philosophy	111	Introduction to Philosophy
Computer Science	202	General Computer Programming

* Advance Placement Credit

Michigan State University - BS Interdisciplinary Physical Science

Department	Course Number	Course Title
Math	412	Axiomatic Geometry
Astronomy	459	Solar System Physics
Geology	479	Geotectonics
	872	Exploration Seismology
Chemistry	461	Theoretical Chem I
	462	Theoretical Chem II
Military Science	223	Terrain Analysis and Land Navigation
Electrical Engineering	400	Current Topics in EE
Mechanical Engineering	332	Fluid Mechanics I
	499	Independent Study (Fluids II)
Geography	223	Introduction to Cartography
	451	Climate Patterns
Biophysics	402	Intro to Theoretical Molecular Biophysics
English	313	Scientific Writing
Humanities	203	Humanities of the Western World
Social Science	211	Emergence of Man
	212	Coping with Change
Health and PE	331	First Aid and Emergency Care

Michigan State University - MS Interdisciplinary Physical Science

Department	Course Number	Course Title
Geology	875	Advanced Geophysical Exploration I
	876	Advanced Geophysical Exploration II
	870	Topics in Geophysics (Geophysical Data Processing)
Chemistry	834	Advanced Analytical Chemistry
	835	Spectroscopic Chemical Analysis
	838	Scientific Instrumentation
Philosophy	483	Philosophy of Physical Science
Communications	815	Organizational Communications
	850	Seminar on Research Utilization
Geography	902	Problems in Physical Geography (Advanced Climatology)
Management	806	Organization and Administration
Physical Science	890	Problems (Thesis on Interdisciplinary Research Management)

Recent Publications Include:

"Emissions of metals and polychlorinated dibenzo(p)dioxins and furans (PCDD/Fs) from Portland cement manufacturing plants: inter-kiln variability and dependence on fuel-types.", Sci Total Environ. 2011 Sep 15;409(20):4198-205.

"Polychlorinated dibenzo(p)dioxin and furan (PCDD/F) congener profiles in cement kiln emissions and impacts.", Sci Total Environ. 2012 March 1;419(20):37-43.

GCI Tech Notes "HAZOP - Before You Start" April 2009

The Use of a Comprehensive Facility Operations Review and HAZOP Study to Limit Liabilities and Risks in the Operation of Hazardous Waste Fuel Facilities

GCI Tech Notes "Restricting Highly Toxic Wastes at Hazardous Waste Fuel Facilities" Mar-99

GCI Tech Notes "HAZOP REVIEWS" August-98

GCI Tech Notes "Working Together in Plant Operations" Dec-96

GCI Tech Notes "EPA Dioxin Exposure Assessment Comments”, Feb-95

"The Added Risk to Health, Safety and the Environment Due to the BIF Regulation"

HWF Notes "GC Solvents-Safety and Health”, Feb-93

HWF Notes "DOT Hazmat Training”, Jan-93

Professional Qualifications – David Gossman

PRESIDENT – GOSSMAN CONSULTING, INC
PRESIDENT – CHEMRIGHT LABORATORIES, INC.
OWNER - HIDDEN BLUFFS FARM
SOLE PROPRIETOR - TREEFARMPRODUCTS.COM

David Gossman has a B.S. and M.S. in Interdisciplinary Physical Science, is a Fellow of the American Institute of Chemists (FAIC) and is a Certified Fire and Explosion Investigator (CFEI). He is President, Gossman Consulting, Inc., President, ChemRight Laboratories, Inc., Owner, Hidden Bluffs Farm and Sole Proprietor, TreeFarmProducts.com. He has been Manager, Cement Kiln Services for Safety‑Kleen Corp.; Manager, Business Development for McKesson Envirosystems; and Technical Director for Systech Corp. He has, over the last thirty-three years, developed a large number of the commercially available systems for utilizing hazardous waste as fuel in cement kilns. Prior to entering the hazardous waste management field in 1980, he held a non‑teaching faculty position at the Michigan State University Heavy Ion Laboratory where he worked as an instrumentation engineer. He is on various committees for ASTM International including: Sampling and Analysis of Atmospheres; Waste Management; Molecular Spectroscopy; and Chromatography and Occupational Health and Safety. Over the years David Gossman has been involved in the process of developing, reviewing and approving numerous ASTM standards. He is also a member of the American Chemical Society, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the International Society of Environmental Forensics and is an Associate Member of the American Bar Association (ABA)-Section of Environment, Energy & Resources and Section of Tort Trial & Insurance Practice. He is a member of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and the National Association of Fire Investigators (NAFI).

If you have questions or wish to set up a meeting please contact David Gossman at (563) 652-2822 or send an e-mail.

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