Author: shenshaw

It’s a Good Idea to be Proactive!

Posted on by shenshaw

Written by Steve Henshaw, President & CEO, EnviroForensics in collaboration with Justin Gifford, General Counsel, EnviroForensics
As seen in the January 2010 issue of Western Cleaner & Launderer

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Opening up Google, a newspaper, turning on the radio or catching the evening news is sure to expose you to the national debate over health care and insurance. Through that exposure, most of us have gained at least a passing familiarity with the issue of “pre-existing conditions.” Insurers either refuse outright to cover a person with a pre-existing condition or exclude that condition from the coverage, leaving the insured to pay for it out of his pocket. Environmental liabilities and using historical insurance to offset those liabilities are not the focus of a lively national  debate, yet the costs incurred by drycleaners each year due to a similar problem are staggering.

We receive calls on a regular basis from drycleaners or property owners already engaged in defining the size of a spill or actively remediating it at the “request” of regulatory agencies asking for our help locating historical insurance to pay for the investigation and cleanup. Often times, we are able to locate that insurance to fund the clean up…but just as often, the twenty, thirty or   hundred and fifty thousand dollars already spent by our client cannot be recovered from the insurer even though the spending was necessary to comply with the regulator’s orders.

Continue reading “It’s a Good Idea to be Proactive!”

Good Housekeeping Includes Good Record Keeping

Posted on by shenshaw

Written by Steve Henshaw, President and CEO of EnviroForensics and PolicyFind
As seen in the December 2009 issue of Western Cleaner & Launderer

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You can tell a lot about a drycleaner’s operation by the way that he conducts housekeeping. That is to say that if a drycleaner keeps a clean store, he probably handles chemicals in a manner that minimizes environmental releases. However, good housekeeping alone may not keep you out of hot water with the regulatory agencies.

There are some simple, effective and inexpensive ways to protect your business and your assets from liability by keeping good records. If you’ve ever watched one of the procedural crime dramas, the plot usually turns around “the evidence.” Creating, organizing and maintaining records can be the evidence that keeps you out of trouble. Hazardous waste manifests, perc purchase/disposal records, transporter license numbers and treatment facility identification numbers are all examples of things you should (or, in some cases, must) keep records of. However, those records aren’t just in case of a major problem. They can help you identify a minor problem before it gets serious. Continue reading “Good Housekeeping Includes Good Record Keeping”

How to Select an Environmental Consultant

Posted on by shenshaw

Written by Steve Henshaw, P.G., President & CEO, EnviroForensics in collaboration with Konrad Banaszak, PhD; CPG-Chief Scientist EnviroForensics
As seen in the November 2009, Western Cleaner and Launderer Issue.

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Selecting an environmental consultant is a business decision that should be more like selecting a personal doctor than selecting where to buy office supplies.  Most consumers of environmental consulting services recognize that this is a complicated and important decision but still find themselves following a “standard” path that leads to “standard” results and “standard” problems – all of which could have be avoided by taking the time to become a better-educated consumer.  This article will go through some of the selection and screening methods that small business owners use when selecting an environmental consultant to address their environmental liabilities. Continue reading “How to Select an Environmental Consultant”

Using Old Insurance to Cover Investigation and Clean-Up Costs

Posted on by shenshaw

Written by Steve Henshaw, P.G., President & CEO, EnviroForensics
As seen in the September 2009 issue of Cleaner & Launderer

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I heard from some readers that my last few articles were a little too technical and in addressing those comments, I’ve decided to go back to basics. That is to say, what are basic concerns that dry cleaners have? Since this is the Environmental Corner and staying with that topic, it is my experience that one of those basic concerns that dry cleaners might have deals with the questions,“How am I going to pay for an environmental investigation and clean-up?” Old insurance policies may be an answer.

For years I’ve espoused that business owners need to find their old comprehensive general liability (CGL) policies and store them in a safe, dry and fireproof place. CGL policies were purchased by business owners to cover them against all liability exposures of a business unless specifically excluded. Coverage includes products, completed operations, premises and operations, elevators, independent contractors, to name a few. Note the key words, “unless specifically excluded.” These words are very important in determining whether an individual or businesses old insurance policies can be used to pay for environmental investigations and clean-ups.

Continue reading “Using Old Insurance to Cover Investigation and Clean-Up Costs”

In Situ Bio-Remediation of Perc From Syrup to Cheese Whey

Posted on by shenshaw

Written By Steve Henshaw, P.G., President & CEO of EnviroForensics
As seen in the August 2009 issue of Western Cleaner & Launderer

PDF Version

For years, environmental scientists and engineers have been promoting the notion of using microorganisms to degrade chlorinated volatile organic compounds (e.g. Perc and associated breakdown products) and petroleum hydrocarbons (e.g. gas, diesel, oil, etc.)  This technology falls under a general term called bio-remediation.  One may recall video of the Valdez oil spill in Alaska, when cleanup crews sprayed microorganisms onto the oil laden shoreline.  The idea was that the microorganisms would literally consume the oil as their food source.  This same phenomenon has been observed in aquifers contaminated with gasoline and oil, whereby the leading edge of the contamination plume is often consumed by naturally occurring microorganisms, while the center of the contamination plume does not have sufficient oxygen for the microorganisms to grow.  The breakdown of petroleum hydrocarbons can be summed up as needing an oxygen rich environment, also known as an aerobic environment, where oxygen is needed to aid in the consumption of the petroleum hydrocarbons.  The result is that gasoline and diesel contaminated plumes are relatively small in length.  As the concentration of gasoline and diesel compounds decrease from the source area, the amount of oxygen increases and the bugs population, in turn, adjusts to the lower concentration food source. Continue reading “In Situ Bio-Remediation of Perc From Syrup to Cheese Whey”