Opinion ID: 696568
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Plaintiffs' Contributing Contaminants Report

Text: 49 Finally, the plaintiffs rely on a report by Richard C. Cronce, Ph.D. (Dr. Cronce) of R.E. Wright Associates, Inc. entitled Evaluation Contributions of Contaminants to the Fairview Township Soccer Field (Contributing Contaminants Report) dated May 19, 1993. App. at 3044. The purpose of the report is to determine the possible pathways of migration of regulated compounds to the surface of the soccer field, thus exposing persons on the field to potential adverse health effects from these chemicals. Id. at 3044a. In preparing his report, Dr. Cronce reviewed the various Army reports on the site and also performed a site walkover to observe present on-site conditions. Id. at 3044. The report concludes that periodic additions of contaminants to the surface of the soccer field are likely as a result of flooding, overland flow of discharge waters from a drainage pipe adjacent to the field, erosion of top soil which is revealing an underlying layer of coal ash and movement of the contaminants inside the landfill up to the surface soil either by VOCs moving up through pore space in the soil or semi-volatile organic compounds moving upwards as a result of pedoturbation, or physical soil mixing, which occurs as animals or insects dig or burrow in the ground. Finally, Dr. Cronce concluded that because some of the topsoil used on the field originated from a point along the Creek, it was probably contaminated. 50 Dr. Cronce did not perform any soil testing to confirm his hypotheses. He believed, however, that [t]he presence of these contaminants on the existing surface has been documented and, therefore, the contribution of these contaminants from these various processes is highly likely. Id. at 3049a.