Initial Publication Date: October 17, 2007

Learning Module: Post-trial/Remediation

Student Assignment

This assignment consists of two parts, the first part is a debrief of the mock trial and the second part is related to remedial actions completed at the Woburn Wells G & H Superfund site. If a mock trial was not conducted, the questions related to the mock trial can be disregarded. Questions related to the remediation are based on information provided in the Bair and Metheny, 2002 (Acrobat (PDF) 4.2MB Jun18 09) article and Woburn Remediation (PowerPoint 22.1MB Jun18 09) presentation.

Part 1:Trial debrief

  1. What activities were effective for trial preparation?
  2. What added to or detracted from the believability of witnesses testimony?
  3. What questioning techniques were most effective by counsel?
  4. What trial documents were/were not effective in communicating subsurface conditions to the court and jury?
  5. Why did the jury render the verdict delivered? What testimony influenced their decision?
  6. What preparation activities would you recommend to the next class to implement a mock trial?

Part 2: Remedial actions completed at Woburn since the trial

  1. At the time the Bair and Metheny, 2002 article was published, which sites were actively undergoing remediation and which sites were still being characterized?
  2. Based on the research done by (Tarr, 1987)., how long have there been sources of hazardous waste in the Aberjona River Valley? What are some of those sources?
  3. Provide a general description of the geologic profile of the Aberjona River Valley.
  4. What volatile organic compounds create the most difficulty for remediation of groundwater in the Wells G & H area? Why? What is a DNAPL?
  5. According to the Bair ans Metheny article, how many kilograms of volatile organic compounds have been removed from the W.R. Grace, UniFirst, and Wildwood properties?
  6. Review the removal efficiency for the groundwater pumping systems at W.R. Grace and UniFirst sites. What is the relation between the removal efficiencies at each site? Explain why this relation occurs.

Return To Remediation Overview


« Previous Page