Melinda W. Hahn, PhD

Over 10 years of experience in site investigation and remediation, risk-based corrective action, contaminant fate and transport analysis in ground water and air, statistics of environmental data, litigation support, and due diligence.

• Provided technical litigation support for over 40 matters regarding source, extent and severity, and timing of soil and ground water contamination, human health risk assessment, toxic tort liability, Superfund cost allocation (including consistency with the NCP), and the estimation of environmental liability in real estate transactions; regulatory frameworks include various state voluntary cleanup and leaking underground storage tank programs, RCRA, CERCLA, TSCA, and California Proposition 65; industrial categories include equipment manufacturing, metal working and metal recycling, automobile manufacturing, ink manufacturing, wood treating, secondary aluminum production, energy (petroleum dispensing, pipeline operations, former manufactured gas plant sites, and electricity generation), and dry cleaning.
• Provided expert testimony for matters involving contaminant fate and transport, the statistics of environmental data, and Superfund cost allocation.
• Conducted environmental forensic evaluations to determine sources of observed contamination for sites in litigation and pre-litigation phases.
• Provided technical direction for Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Studies and 5-Year Reviews at CERCLA and state Superfund sites.
• Performed ground water and contaminant fate and transport modeling using MODFLOW and MT3D for use as a Superfund cost allocation tool and as support for remedial design projects.
• Performed statistical analysis (including the use of Monte Carlo techniques) to analyze contaminant transport, human health risks, Superfund cost allocation, insurance costs, and to determine compliance with remediation objectives.
• Utilized 3-D geostatistical interpolation techniques to visualize environmental data, to assist in remedial design, and to identify and distinguish source areas and potential preferential pathways of migration for a number of contaminated sites.
• Directed and assisted in the closure of a number of sites in the Illinois Voluntary Cleanup Program and the Illinois Leaking Underground Storage Tank Program.

PhD, Environmental Engineering, The Johns Hopkins University

BS, Physics, The University of Texas at Austin

BS, Mathematics, The University of Texas at Austin

back to people