Science in the Courtroom Teaching scientific methods using a mock trial based on the famous ‘A Civil Action’ case E. Scott Bair Geological Sciences Ohio State University

In the honors course, my students serve as expert witnesses in a mock trial at the end of the quarter while law students in an Applied Trial Practice course taught by Professor Rob Solomon in our Law School serve as the attorneys. It is these two entwined courses that straddle colleges and degrees that I want to address in detail.

CLOSED H G 5 parts per billion Riley Tannery 187 barrels of waste - May 1979 Well G 1964 700 gpm 90-ft deep 10-ft screen Well H 1967 400 gpm 88-ft deep H G Aberjona River Valley By the late 1950’s, Woburn needed additional water supplies and drilled test wells in the glacial sand and gravel deposits underlying the Aberjona River valley In Feb 1982, 187 barrels of liquid waste, reported to Woburn Police, some leaking into the Aberjona River Aberjona River CLOSED 118 ppb TCE 267 ppb TCE 5 parts per billion wetland Well S46 1958 160 gpm 51-ft deep 15-ft screen S46 S47 Riley Tannery

Anne Anderson et al. versus W.R. Grace & Co. et al. The May 1982 lawsuit alleges two companies improperly disposed of toxic chemicals that entered the groundwater flow system, contaminated Woburn municipal wells G & H, and prolonged ingestion led to severe health effects including leukemia, liver disease, and central nervous system disorders.

Defendants W.R. Grace & Co. Beatrice Foods John Riley Co. tannery 15 acres John Riley Co. tannery (Wildwood)

H G Ann Anderson Jimmy Anderson ALL diagnosed in Jan. 1971 In Feb 1982, 187 barrels of liquid waste, reported to Woburn Police, some leaking into the Aberjona River W.R. Grace Beatrice Ann Anderson Jimmy Anderson ALL diagnosed in Jan. 1971

28 Childhood Leukemia Cases 1964 - 1986 (modified from F.A.C.E.) E F D C B A G H Anderson’s