I’m a Senior Project Scientist/Project Manager in the Detroit area dealing with environmental issues. I do a lot of problem-solving and exploratory data analysis, providing expertise on complex environmental issues to various clients and occasionally serving as an expert witness. Generally my work involves the chemical and geochemical aspects of contaminated site scenarios, but I’ve also been involved in mediation, stakeholder participation, and other related issues. FWIW, I have some 30+ publications, book chapters, etc., and have given numerous presentations. I’ve worked in state government, at an EPA research lab, as an independent consultant, and am now with an environmental consultancy.
I love science in general and have since a small child in the 1950′s. I’m particularly fond of evolutionary biology (one of my degrees is in Zoology), in addition to environmental science and chemistry, but I also try to keep up as I can with physics and astronomy. I strive to be a rational free-thinker and am interested in logic, the intersection of our brains with input and how our brains interpret and model those interactions. I enjoy politics, reading, writing, and music.
Some of my publications are listed below (which are less frequent now that I’m a consultant rather than a researcher).
You can contact me here:
Publications:
36. Powell, R. M., Pugh, J., and B. Hensel. 2007. “Groundwater Remediation of Inorganic Constituents at Coal Combustion Product Management Sites, Technology Review.” Electric Power Research Institute Report 1012584.
35. Powell, R.M. 2005. “Techniques for Ground Water Sampling.” Invited chapter for the Environmental Instrumentation and Analysis Handbook. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York. Down, R.D. and J. Lehr, eds. pp. 1068.
34. Powell, R.M. and R.W. Puls. 2003. “Technology Update: Current Status of the Practice for Permeable Reactive Barrier Technology Applications.” U.S. EPA Report for Issue Paper.
33. Powell, R.M., Powell, P.D., and R.W. Puls. 2002. “Economic Analysis of the Implementation of Permeable Reactive Barriers for Remediation of Contaminated Ground Water.” U.S. EPA. EPA/600/R-02/034. June 2002.
32. Puls, R.W., Powell, R.M., Paul, C.J., and D.W. Blowes. 1999. “Ground Water Remediation of Chromium Using Zero-Valent Iron in a Permeable Reactive Barrier: Laboratory and Field Study Results.” Chapter 13 in ACS Symposium Series 725, Innovative Subsurface Remediation, Field Testing of Innovative Remediation Technologies. pp. 182-194.
31. Powell, R.M., Puls, R.W. 1998. “Natural Attenuation of Arsenic.” U.S. EPA Report for Issue Paper.
30. Powell, R.M., Shen, H., and G.W. Sewell. 1998. “Bioattenuation of Redox-Sensitive Metals.” U.S. EPA Report for Issue Paper.
29. Powell, R.M., Puls, R.W., Blowes, D., Vogan, J., Gillham, R.W., Powell, P.D., Schultz, D., Landis, R., and T. Sivavec. 1998. “Permeable Reactive Barrier Technologies for Contaminant Remediation.” U.S. EPA Report. EPA/600/R-98/125.
28. Puls, R.W., Powell, R.M., and C.J. Paul. 1998. “Contaminant Reduction and Remediation Using Zero-Valent Iron in Permeable Reactive Subsurface Barriers: Reactions, Geochemical Effects, and Pilot-Scale Field Studies.” U.S. EPA Report for Environmental Research Brief.
27. Powell, R.M. and P.D. Powell. 1998. “Iron Metal for Subsurface Remediation.” Invited chapter for The Encyclopedia of Environmental Analysis and Remediation. Robert A. Myers, ed. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York. 8:4729-4761.
26. Powell, R.M. and R.W. Puls. July 1997. “Permeable Reactive Subsurface Barriers for the Interception and Remediation of Chlorinated Hydrocarbon and Chromium (VI) Plumes in Ground Water.” U.S. EPA Remedial Technology Fact Sheet. EPA/600/F-97/008.
25. Powell, R.M. and R.W. Puls. 1997. “Proton Generation by Dissolution of Intrinsic or Augmented Aluminosilicate Minerals for In Situ Contaminant Remediation by Zero-Valence-State Iron.” Environmental Science & Technology. 31:2244-2251.
24. Powell, R.M. and R.W. Puls. June 1997. “Hitting the Bull’s-Eye in Groundwater Sampling.” Cover Article, Pollution Engineering. 50-54.
23. Caughey, M.E., Barcelona, M.J., Powell, R.M., Cahill, R.A., Gron, C., Lawrenz, D., and P.L. Meschi. 1995. “Interlaboratory Study of a Method for Determining Nonvolatile Organic Carbon in Aquifer Materials.” Environmental Geology. 26:211-219.
22. Powell, R.M., Puls, R.W., Hightower, S.K., and D.A. Sabatini. 1995. “Coupled Iron Corrosion and Chromate Reduction: Mechanisms for Subsurface Remediation.” Environmental Science and Technology. 29:1913-1922.
21. Puls, R.W., Powell, R.M., and D.A. Clark. 1994. “Assessment of Colloidal Transport in Ground Water, Pinal Creek Basin, Arizona.” Chapter C in Hydrology and Geochemistry of Aquifer and Stream Contamination Related to Acidic Water in Pinal Creek Basin near Globe, Arizona. U.S. Geological Survey Water-Supply Paper, AZ082-745. 12/1/94. Brown, J. G. & B. Favor, eds.
20. Powell, R.M. 1994. “Geochemical Effects on Chromate Reduction and Remediation Utilizing the Thermodynamic Instability of Zero-Valence-State Iron.” Thesis, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK.
19. Powell, R.M., Puls, R.W., and C.J. Paul. 1994. “Chromate Reduction and Remediation Utilizing the Thermodynamic Instability of Zero-Valence-State Iron.” Water Environment Federation Specialty Conference Series, Innovative Solutions for Contaminated Site Management. March 6-9. Miami, FL.
18. Powell, R.M. and R.W. Puls. 1993. “Passive Sampling of Ground Water Monitoring Wells Without Purging: Multilevel Well Chemistry and Tracer Disappearance.” Journal of Contaminant Hydrology. 12:51-77.
17. Puls, R.W. and R.M. Powell. 1992. “Acquisition of Representative Ground Water Quality Samples for Metals.” Invited paper. Ground Water Monitoring Review, Summer.
16. Puls, R.W., Powell, R.M., Clark, D.A., Bledsoe, B.E., and C.J. Paul. 1992. “Metals in Ground Water: Sampling Artifacts and Reproducibility”, Hazardous Waste, Hazardous Materials. 9(2):149-162.
15. Puls, R.W. and R.M. Powell. 1992. “Transport of Inorganic Colloids Through Natural Aquifer Material: Implications for Contaminant Transport.” Environmental Science and Technology. 26(3):614-621.
14. Puls, R.W., Powell, R.M., Clark, D.A., and C.J. Eldred. 1991. “Effects of pH, Solid/Solution Ratio, Ionic Strength, and Organic Acids on Pb and Cd Sorption on Kaolinite.” Water, Soil, and Air Pollution. 57-58:423-430.
13. Puls, R.W., Powell, R.M., Clark D.A., and C.J. Paul. July 1991. “Facilitated Transport of Inorganic Contaminants in Groundwater: Part 2. Colloidal Transport.” U.S. EPA Environmental Research Brief. EPA/600/M-91/040.
12. Puls, R.W. and R.M. Powell. 1991. “Electrostatic Repulsive Effects on the Mobility of Inorganic Colloids in Subsurface Systems.” Chapter 4 in Contaminant Transport in the Subsurface-Colloids and Surfactants, the 65th Annual Colloid and Surface Science Symposium, American Chemical Society. June 17-19. Sabatini, D. A. and R. C. Knox, eds. University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK.
11. Puls, R.W., Powell, R.M., and T.F. Rees. 1991. “Stability and Transport of Inorganic Colloids Through Contaminated Aquifer Material.” Proceedings of the Fifth Annual Toxic Substances Hydrology Technical Meeting. March 11-15. Monterey, CA.
10. Puls, R.W. and R.M. Powell. 1990. “Laboratory Studies on the Stability and Transport of Inorganic Colloids Through Natural Aquifer Material.” Concepts in Manipulation of Groundwater Colloids for Environmental Restoration. Oct. 16-18. Manteo, NC.
9. Puls, R.W., Eychaner, J.H., and R.M. Powell. 1990. “Colloidal-Facilitated Transport of Inorganic Contaminants in Groundwater: Part 1. Sampling Considerations.” U.S. EPA Environmental Research Brief. EPA/600/M-90/023.
8. Powell, R.M. 1990. “Total Organic Carbon Determinations in Natural and Contaminated Aquifer Materials, Relevance and Measurement.” Proceedings of the Fourth National Outdoor Action Conference on Aquifer Restoration, Ground water Monitoring And Geophysical Methods. National Water Well Association. May 14-17. Las Vegas, NV.
7. Powell, R.M., Bledsoe, B.E., Johnson, R.L., and G.P. Curtis. 1989. “Interlaboratory Methods Comparison for the Total Organic Carbon Analysis of Aquifer Materials.” Environmental Science and Technology. 23:1246-1249. (Reviewed in The Groundwater Newsletter. 18(19):2. 1989)
6. Powell, R.M., Kampbell, D.H., Bledsoe, B.E., Callaway, R.W., Michalowski, J.T., Vandegrift, S.A., White, M.V., and J.T. Wilson. 1988. “Comparison of Methods to Determine Oxygen Demand for Bioremediation of a Fuel Contaminated Aquifer.” International Journal of Environmental Analytical Chemistry. 34:253-263.
5. Armstrong, J.M., Korreck, W., Leach, L.E., Powell, R.M., Vandegrift, S.A., and J.T. Wilson. 1988. “Bioremediation of a Fuel Spill: Evaluation of Techniques for Preliminary Site Characterization.” Proceedings of the National Water Well Association Petroleum Hydrocarbons Conference. Nov. 9-11. Houston, TX.
4. Bouchard, D.C., Powell, R.M., and D.A. Clark. 1988. “Organic Cation Effects on the Retention of Metals and Neutral Organic Compounds on Aquifer Material.” Journal of Environmental Science and Health, Part A – Environmental Science and Engineering. 23(6):585-601.
3. Powell, R.M. 1988. “Method Comparison for the Analysis of Total Organic Carbon in Waters and Soils Utilizing the Oceanographics International Ampule Analyzer, Leco Carbon Determinator, and Dohrmann Carbon Analyzer.” Northrop Technical Report. TR-4410-87-17.
2. Bouchard, D.C., Powell, R.M., and D.A. Clark. 1987. “Alkyl Ammonium Cation Effects on Aquifer Material Sorptivity.” Agronomy Abstracts. p.166.
1. Powell, R.M. 1987. “Changes in Volumetric Glassware after Heating at 565°C for Carbon Removal.” EPA Quality Assurance Newsletter. 9(1).
