ERP - Environmental Risk Professionals

Cargo Releases

Releases of hazardous cargo can occur due to improper cargo securement, a loose valve, vandalism, or an accident involving a truck in transit, such as a rollover or upset on a highway or roadway. Releases of transported materials can contaminate soil or groundwater, which could trigger third-party claims for cleanup, property damage, or injuries to individuals. A release could contaminate drinking water sources or natural resources by entering surface waters, such as lakes, rivers, streams, or creeks. Additionally, hazardous fumes can be released, depending on the cargo, that could injure third parties.

Asbestos

Asbestos-containing materials, contaminated soils, lead-based paint, or other dry materials could become disturbed during transportation due to inadequate containment in a vehicle or upsets, overturns, or other accidents. Releases of hazardous dust or asbestos fibers could occur and expose third parties to injury or illness.

Cleanup Response

Following a transportation accident of a vehicle transporting contaminated materials, failure to properly seal off, clean up and decontaminate a roadway, or failure to properly use equipment, could cause a release of contaminants or exacerbate contamination caused by a release.

Chemical Packaging and Vapor Hazards

Transporters who package materials in preparation for shipping may inadvertently mix two incompatible materials, creating an environmental hazard. Mixing incompatible chemicals can cause off-gassing and release toxic vapors that pose an inhalation hazard to third parties or could cause a fire or spontaneous combustion.

Temporary Waste Storage

During the cleanup of hazardous waste and materials, transporters may be required to transport and temporarily store the waste at their site or a storage facility before final disposal. Releases during temporary storage of hazardous waste and materials could lead to soil, groundwater, or surface water contamination and result in costly cleanup.

Loading and Unloading

Waste container breaches or improper handling during loading and unloading onto a transport vehicle may result in releases at the jobsite, storage, or disposal location.

Waste Characterization and Disposal Risks

A generator that fails to accurately characterize its waste could expose the transporter to the accidental collection of hazardous waste, and the transporter can be held liable for illegal disposal of the material at a disposal facility that is not permitted to accept the waste. Additionally, transporters may incur potential liability for the cleanup of abandoned or uncontrolled sites by transporting a hazardous substance. Under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA), a transporter can be classified as a potentially responsible party for site cleanup by releasing a hazardous substance they transported.

Fleet Fluids

Vehicles contain fuel, oil, hydraulic fluid, and other automotive fluids. Spills during maintenance or fueling operations, or leaks from mounting, lines, hoses, fittings, valves, and connections while garaged or in transport, can contaminate soils and groundwater or discharge into surface waters through drains or stormwater run-off. On-site storage of fuel, oil, lubricants/grease, and automotive fluids in storage tanks (above or underground) and drums can also leak during containment or be spilled during loading, resulting in environmental liability.

Transportation Pollution Liability Can Provide Coverage For

First-party transportation pollution liability

Third-party transportation pollution liability

Third-party claims for cleanup

Third-party claims for property damage

Third-party claims for bodily injury

Defense of third-party claims

Loading and unloading

Civil fines and penalties, where allowed by law

First-party emergency response costs

Natural resource damage

Claims Scenarios & Examples

HazMat crews responded to a chemical leak from a tanker truck parked in a retail center parking lot. Approximately 3,000 gallons of ferric chloride leaked out, and the retail center had to be evacuated.

A truck spilled a 3-mile trail of pesticide through a farming community, spewing fumes that sent at least eleven people to the hospital and forced the evacuation of a trailer park. Bodily injury suits were filed against the owner of the truck.

An environmental consultant hired an environmental contractor to excavate, transport, and dispose of contaminated concrete and soil at a manufacturing plant. The excavated materials were segregated as non-hazardous and hazardous and placed into roll-off bin containers. The containers were then transported to either a hazardous or solid waste landfill per their waste profile. A few weeks later, as the consultant finalized their report, a discrepancy between the consultant’s notes and the waste disposal records revealed that a hazardous waste container was incorrectly shipped to a non-hazardous waste landfill. While removing the containers from the site, the contractor mixed up two containers of broken concrete and inadvertently transported hazardous waste to a non-hazardous landfill. Due to the time between the discovery of the mistake and the disposal date, the landfill had estimated the material was buried under at least 60 feet of waste. The state environmental agency required a risk assessment, and the manufacturing plant was fined over $100,000 for improper disposal of hazardous waste. The manufacturing plant sued the environmental consultant, who then sued the environmental contractor to recoup costs associated with the fine and legal fees.

An environmental contractor was transporting contaminated waste materials, with their trucks, from a project site to a disposal facility. One of the vehicles overturned and spilled waste materials into a local waterway. The spill resulted in fish kill and stream degradation. Cleanup costs exceeded $250,000.

A sodium bisulfite truck overturned and spilled a hazardous chemical onto the highway interchange. Nearby businesses were evacuated. The businesses sued the trucking company for business interruption expenses, and the trucking company was also liable for the cleanup expenses.

A tanker truck was vandalized while the driver was asleep at a pull-off. Vandals damaged a valve on the rear chemical trailer, and the driver did not discover it until the next morning. While most of the tank’s contents had been released within secondary containment, local environmental officials required subsurface testing of soils and groundwater.

A tractor-trailer carrying 32,000 pounds of hydrofluoric acid overturned on a highway after it swerved to avoid hitting a deer. The pressurized acid began to leak from the flipped vehicle, prompting the evacuation of approximately 5,000 people.

Highway Patrol troopers closed a rest area for most of the day while hazardous materials crews worked to clean up a truck trailer leaking nitric acid. Hazardous materials workers put a portable pool under the truck to catch the acid that leaked before the load could be transferred to another truck. The chemical appeared to have leaked from around a gasket on the truck.

Transporters

Hazardous Materials Transporters

Environmental Exposures May Include: