Need some claim scenarios to present to your insured? Here is a list of great examples you can use to show your facility clients the importance of having Site Pollution coverage.
- A property owner conducted Phase I and II Assessments prior to the sale of their facility. Soil and groundwater contamination was traced to a neighboring electronics manufacturing facility. The cause was an old raw material storage area that used to exist over gravel. This area is now over concrete containment. Total investigation, remediation and property damage claims exceeded $1.5 million.
- A property owner had his drinking water well tested prior to selling his land. Testing revealed that the well contained an alarmingly high concentration of total petroleum hydrocarbons. Further investigation revealed that the source of contamination was several dozen drums of waste oil and maintenance fluids buried on a neighboring farm. Though the previous farm owner buried the drums, the current owner was nevertheless responsible for disposal of the drums, soil and groundwater cleanup, and bodily injury and property damage claims submitted by the neighboring property owner. Total costs exceeded $1,000,000 and caused the farmer’s bankruptcy.
- A waste storage area without secondary containment was stacked with drums of a caustic substance. The caustic substance eroded the drums and spilled onto the ground, into an adjacent creek. Subsequent remediation involved the removal of contaminated waste from the premises and dilution of waste from the creek. Cleanup costs exceeded $170,000.
- The toxic presence of methane and hydrogen sulfide gases caused nearly 200 homes in a small town to be evacuated. The emissions were traced to a local coal-mining site. Approximately 350 residents sought compensation for personal injury and property damages. The coal mine operator paid more than $9 million in settlement and defense costs.
- Fuel oil from an oil refinery was found to have leaked from below ground sewer hubs that were connected to aboveground storage tank drains. By the time the leak was discovered, contamination was detected in three groundwater plumes and onsite groundwater was also contaminated. The refinery paid nearly $5 million in cleanup costs and attorney fees.
- An aluminum trailer was loaded with a caustic substance at a transfer station. The substance corroded the trailer, spilling on the ground into an adjacent creek off-site. Constituents of the waste included creosols, methylene chloride and sodium hydroxide. The remedial effort involved pumping contaminated waste from the premises and pumping diluted waste from the creek. Cleanup costs exceeded $100,000.
- A chlorine gas release at a wastewater treatment plant resulted in toxic air emissions. Area residents and businesses were evacuated and several people were hospitalized for inhalation of fumes. A total of 12 businesses were forced to shut down for the better part of a day. Bodily injury claims amounted to $70,000 and business interruption claims totaled $120,000.
- A wastewater treatment plant that was 25 years old had been upgraded several times over the years. Improper closure of an old clarifier and on-site surface impoundment had allowed gradual seepage into the groundwater. These constituents contaminated the underlying groundwater, which was a potable water supply for the neighboring community. The costs for groundwater cleanup and emergency water supply for residents totaled $550,000.
- A maintenance garage that used solvents for parts washing performed the work over a drain leading to an on-site septic system. Over time, the septic system leach fields migrated into the surrounding soils and groundwater. At the time of the septic system closure and conversion to a public sewer system, the contamination was discovered. Site remediation involved soil removal and the installation of a groundwater recovery system. The costs exceeded $720,000.
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For product details, download a Site Pollution product information sheet (PDF).
