ERP - Environmental Risk Professionals

Leaks and Spills

Units rented at self-storage facilities may be used to store items that, upon release, could create a pollution condition. A few examples of causes for pollution conditions could include: leaking oils, fuels, and automotive fluids from stored vehicles, corroding batteries, spills or leaks of chemicals used for hobbies such as photography or woodworking, and spills or leaks from stored paints and thinners. Releases of these substances could contaminate building materials, soil, and groundwater or migrate to adjacent properties.

Hazardous Materials

Storage unit tenants could still store hazardous materials without the property owners’ knowledge, even if prohibited. Persons involved in illegal drug activity or toxic waste dumping could leave the property owner liable for the cleanup and disposal of hazardous materials.

Mold

Mold growth could occur from water intrusion due to storms, flooding, leaking water pipes or sprinklers, and HVAC systems. Some self-storage facilities are flat-roofed, where pooled water can be absorbed by the roofing material and seep into sub-roof areas. Clogged roof gutters can exacerbate the problem.

Abandoned Hazardous Waste

Under current federal and state law, self-storage operators are responsible for the cost of legally disposing of hazardous materials discovered on the premises.

Pesticides

The use of pesticides and rodent repellents is common inside storage units. Improper placement of traps and poison boxes or broken packets or pellets could pose a toxic exposure to tenants or their children and pets on-site.

Illicit Abandonment

Illicit abandonment, or midnight dumping, is the illegal dumping of pollutants on your property. For a self-storage facility, illicit abandonment could occur from someone without a unit dumping materials or a tenant’s abandoned items. If the originator of the waste cannot be found, the property owner would need to incur the cost of determining the material. If the material is hazardous, they would then incur the costs of removal and any cleanup and third-party bodily injury if a release should occur.

Fire and Toxic Run-off

A hostile fire at the facility could emit toxic fumes and smoke from the materials stored at the facility or due to a mix of materials resulting from the fire. Water used to put out the flames could create contaminated run-off that spreads to nearby storm drains or adjacent properties.

Neighboring Contamination

Many storage facilities are located in commercial and industrial complexes. Contaminants from neighboring facilities could migrate to the storage property. If that business owner is not properly insured or goes bankrupt, the cleanup cost of the contamination could fall on the storage facility owner for their property.

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

Third-party claims for cleanup

Defense of third-party claims

Both sudden and gradual pollution conditions

Mold, legionella, bacteria, and fungi

Business interruption resulting from pollution conditions

First and third-party transportation pollution liability

Loading and unloading

Illicit abandonment of materials

Non-owned disposal sites

Civil fines and penalties

Asbestos and Lead

Claims Scenarios & Examples

Two units at a self-storage facility were found to have hundreds of bags of asbestos. It was discovered that an environmental business had been hired to remove asbestos from several different places, falsified paperwork, and illegally stored it at the facility. The business owner didn’t have money for proper disposal, and the storage facility was faced with handling it.

A self-storage facility had a renter that missed several payments. They finally repossessed the unit, and once they did, they found hazardous materials in the space. The facility contacted local officials immediately, who then demanded that the facility take necessary steps to correctly remove and dispose of the hazardous materials. The renter could not be found or contacted, so the facility owner had to cover the costs of cleaning up and disposing of the materials. Included with the cleanup procedures was contracting with an EPA-certified and licensed hazmat hauler and ordering soil and groundwater investigations. The results of the investigations found that several tons of soil needed to be excavated, and ongoing testing had to be completed for years after. The facility owner had to pay the costs out of pocket, which were close to $600,000.

Tenants storing their belongings in a self-storage facility found their property covered in a white fuzzy mold. Puddles of water were found in these units. The facility maintenance indicated that humidity build-up in the units may have caused mold growth.

After a tenant at a self-storage facility failed to pay rent for six months, the facility cut into the unit and found two dozen 55-gallon drums of an unknown liquid. The facility had to have an environmental investigation done, and hazmat crews identified the liquid as toxic acid that was dangerous if inhaled.

A self-storage facility experienced a spill of 275 gallons of sulfuric acid at their site. The spilled acid then migrated onto the road and into a nearby storm drain. As a result, the facility and nearby roadway were closed down. One man received burns on his hands and feet from the acid. Hazmat crews had to be called out to clean up the spill.

Tenants sued a self-storage company claiming damage to the property they were storing at the facility. When the tenants went to get their items, they found everything was covered in a toxic mold that they said was caused by a leaky roof in the building. They sued the storage facility for negligence, and the tenants asked for $60,000 in damages.

A meth lab was discovered inside a unit at a self-storage facility after it caused a fire to break out. Four other storage units were destroyed in the fire. Crews had to respond to properly clean up the unit to ensure it was safe again. The facility owner also had to address the property losses from the other four units.

Property Types

Self Storage Facilities

Environmental Exposures May Include