ERP - Environmental Risk Professionals

Sick Building Syndrome

Sick Building Syndrome refers to a situation where building occupants suffer from health problems that occur and are aggravated while in a building. It is often attributed to poor design or maintenance of a building’s ventilation system. Exposures that can contribute to an unhealthy indoor environment include asbestos, lead-based paint, mold, bacteria, formaldehyde, nitrous dioxide, carbon monoxide, radon, pesticides, pollen and viruses, and various volatile organic compounds.

Illicit Abandonment

Illicit abandonment, also known as midnight dumping, is the illegal dumping of pollutants on your property or jobsite. It can become the property owner’s burden for cleanup and third-party bodily injury or property damage if law enforcement cannot locate the originator of the waste.

Legacy Contamination

Existing soil or groundwater contamination may be present on, under, or adjacent to a church building from historical operations, former heating oil tanks, releases from off-site properties that migrate onto the property, etc. A property owner may become liable for cleanup or third-party claims related to existing contamination under the Comprehensive Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA).

Asbestos

Older buildings may contain asbestos. Asbestos-containing material (ACM) may be present in duct insulation, piping, furnaces, boilers, tanks, and fireproofing insulation. ACM may also be present in ceilings, walls, flooring tile, and mastic. Tort claims may result from accidental disturbance or alleged exposure during renovation, construction, or interior remodeling.

Lead

Lead could be present in paint or pipes. Lead in pipes can get into drinking water, and paint chips and dust from lead-based paint can be ingested. Lead exposure can cause significant bodily injury. Exterior lead-based paint can also leach into the soil around the structure, resulting in cleanup liability.

Storage Tanks

Underground and aboveground storage tanks typically store materials such as petroleum products and chemicals. Smaller maintenance, cleaning, and grounds maintenance chemicals may be stored in containers or equipment. Spills can occur from storage or during the loading and unloading of chemicals and wastes. Leaks or a malfunction of equipment, pumps, valves, and pipes can also cause a release of the contents. Improper or no secondary containment can allow contents to leach into the underlying soils and groundwater, collect in run-off, or migrate off-site or into storm drains, sewer drains, drywells, or surface waters.

Pesticides and Fertilizer

Pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers, and insecticides may be stored and applied at the property for landscape maintenance. Overuse, misapplication, spills, or containment leaks can cause health impairment to third parties and can contaminate soil, groundwater, or surface water on-site or off-site. Nitrogen and phosphorus in fertilizers can cause excess algae blooms that damage ecosystems and aquatic life.

Waste Management

Churches may incur environmental liability for wastes generated on-site. Improperly segregated and disposed of wastes can result in regulatory fines or lead to cleanup and environmental tort liability. Wastes classified as hazardous or requiring special handling include used oil and antifreeze, lead-acid batteries, fluorescent bulbs, and pesticide waste, which can include leftover spray solutions and excess pesticides.

Mold

Mold/fungi and bacteria, such as legionella, can be transported through water sources, ventilation systems, and other means, representing serious health risks. Mold can develop in building materials from water intrusion or high humidity. Legionella is a bacterium that causes a form of potentially fatal pneumonia. Legionella can thrive in water-containing systems like large air conditioning, plumbing, water heating, and industrial water cooling systems. These pollutants can potentially lead to claims of severe bodily injury or significant remediation costs.

Environmental Pollution Liability Can Provide Coverage For

On-site cleanup of new and pre-existing pollution conditions

Off-site cleanup of new and pre-existing pollution conditions

Third-party claims for bodily injury and property damage

Defense of third-party claims

First-party emergency response costs

Both sudden and gradual pollution conditions

Mold, bacteria, legionella, and more

Aboveground and underground storage tanks

Civil fines and penalties, where allowed by state law

Business interruption resulting from pollution conditions

First and third-party transportation pollution liability

Loading and unloading

Illicit abandonment

Non-owned disposal sites

Asbestos and lead

Natural resource damage

Claims Scenarios & Examples

While selling a church building, the prospective buyer performed a due diligence assessment and learned that an underground plume of contaminants from a nearby property had impacted the site. Further investigation by the church identified that vapor intrusion was occurring and impacting indoor air quality in several church buildings. Unfortunately, the source of contamination was an orphaned site, so the church had to pay the entire cost for the vapor mitigation system and faced the possibility of future bodily injury claims.

A church had extensive mold growth throughout the building. The cause was alleged improper maintenance of the building’s HVAC system. Church employees sued the church for bodily injury. The building owners paid over $10 million for remediation, bodily injury, property damage claims, and other expenses.

A carbon monoxide leak occurred from a faulty valve on a water heater in the church. Twenty-three church visitors were sickened and hospitalized from the leak.

A church had an aboveground heating oil tank in their basement. The tank had rusted and failed, spilling the contents onto the basement floor. The church had to hire a spill response crew to perform emergency response and an environmental consultant to investigate to verify that underlying soils had not been impacted.

The maintenance crew for the church applied fertilizer to the lawn. A rain storm washed the fertilizer off-site into a neighbor’s pond. The church had to pay over $50,000 to restore the pond.

A mechanical contractor removed and replaced ductwork at a church. It was later determined that the ductwork had a dangerous fungus that was inadvertently spread by the dismantling activities and on-site storage of the ductwork. Even though the church was not at fault, it incurred legal defense and claims management expenses.

A gas station was historically located on the property of a current church. The gas station had USTs that had leaked, but the contamination had been cleaned up, and the site received closure. The State later reopened the case due to more stringent groundwater cleanup criteria and soil vapor regulations. The State required the church to perform groundwater and soil vapor sampling. Costs exceeded $93,000.

Eleven parishioners became sickened, and one died from complications of Legionnaires’ disease. Testing determined that legionella bacteria were present at elevated levels in the church’s cooling tower and air conditioning system. The parishioners sued the church for bodily injury, and remediation of the church’s air conditioning and cooling tower was required.

A congregation was displaced after a release from an 800-gallon kerosene tank in a church attic. The church’s heating system failed, causing the kerosene to leak out onto the floor and through the flooring to the room below and down the walls of the building. The church obtained $25,000 from the state petroleum cleanup fund; however, the church had to pay the remainder of the cleanup costs.

Property Types

Churches

Environmental Exposures May Include: