Dr. Martin, principal of Martin Thermal Engineering Inc., has served as consulting and/or testifying expert on approximately 350 cases. Below are several examples of projects and issues he has addressed in the area of Environmental Technology Failure Analysis.

• Landfill Fire. Evaluation of likelihood of self-heating chemicals to ignite ordinary combustibles under the surface of a landfill.
• Catalytic Oxidizer Fire. A regenerative catalytic oxidizer was unable to meet performance targets for pollutant destruction and caught fire on multiple occasions. Failures were due to an accumulation of organic particulate matter on the ceramic matrix that was subsequently vaporized and ignited.
• Trash Incinerator Ash Assessment. A historical investigation into the operation of a 1960’s hospital waste incinerator demonstrated that the ash could not have been the source of certain contaminants found in the groundwater beneath a municipal waste landfill.
• Baghouse Failure Assessment. An analytical method was developed to compute release rates of particulate matter from metallurgical baghouses with one or more failed bags, and the published method was used to compare the fractions of nearby soil contamination due to routine versus accidental particle releases.
• Solid Waste Assessments. Evaluation of industrial wastes for characteristics of flammability, corrosivity, toxicity or reactivity.