Source: https://www.irmi.com, September 2015 By: Kent Holland Where a natural gas pipe exploded due to construction workers disturbing it while working on an excavation project, the Wisconsin Supreme Court held that the resulting bodily injury and property damage was caused by a “pollution condition,” i.e., the escape of the natural gas, and that the contractor’s […]

Source https://www.irmi.com, July 2014 By: Kent Holland A Wisconsin appeals court found that an insurer’s duty to defend under a contractors pollution liability (CPL) policy was not triggered by an explosion caused when a contractor hit a natural gas line. The court explained that the CPL policy only covered property damage and personal injury due […]

Source: https://www.fireengineering.com, February 6, 2019 A gas explosion in a San Francisco neighborhood shot flames into the air for hours Wednesday and burned five buildings, sending panicked residents and workers fleeing into the streets. It took utility crews more than two hours to put out the fire after private construction workers cut a natural gas […]

Source: https://www.enr.com, August 30, 2018 By: Jeff Yoders UPDATE: Worker’s torch set off methane explosion The roof of the sludge concentration building at Chicago’s Calumet Water Reclamation Plant collapsed after an explosion Aug. 30 around 11 a.m. Ten people were hurt and successfully evacuated to area hospitals for treatment by the Chicago Fire Dept. The […]

Dive Brief: Kofi Bonner, co-chief operating officer of Five Point Holdings, developer of the Hunters Point Shipyard/Candlestick Point project on and around the site of a former U.S. Navy shipyard in San Francisco, told the San Francisco Chronicle that the project will be delayed for years due to uncertainty around potentially radioactive soil that is scaring off […]

Source: http://norcal.news, April 25, 2018 By: Bethany Klein When most people think of environmental disasters in the San Francisco Bay Area, they almost certainly think of earthquakes, seeing that there are two major fault lines near San Francisco. However, even though earthquakes can wreak immeasurable, unpredictable havoc, they are certainly not always to blame for […]

Source: http://6abc.com, March 19, 2018 A contractor struck a six-inch gas main in Hamilton Township, Mercer County on Monday. Calls starting coming in around 1 p.m. for a strong smell of gas in the area of the township known as Five Points. The intersection was closed and traffic was being diverted through the neighborhoods. Chopper […]

Source: https://www.lexology.com, January 24, 2018 By: Smith Currie & Hancock In 2016, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) published its final rule lowering the permissible silica exposure level (“PEL”) from 250 µg/m3 to 50 µg/m3. In response, OSHA received petitions from both a collection of industry petitioners (“Industry”) arguing that OSHA made the regulation […]

Source: http://boston.cbslocal.com, September 18, 2017 By: Ken MacLeod There are health concerns in a Wilmington neighborhood after a construction crew started tearing down a house filled with asbestos, without following the proper safety procedures. The issue was so bad; the Department of Environmental Protection was summoned to oversee things. When neighbors complained, it did bring […]

Source: http://www.duluthnewstribune.com, June 25, 2017 By: Brooks Johnson A homeowners association is suing the developer, builder and manager of the Superior Vista condominiums, among others, claiming the Mesaba Avenue complex was not properly built and ought to be repaired under warranty. “Many areas of the building were not built to applicable building code, industry standard […]

Source: http://www.journalgazette.net, June 25, 2017 By: Catherine Traywick Energy Transfer Partners is making a mess of its biggest project since the Dakota Access pipeline. Construction of the $4.2 billion Rover natural gas line has caused seven industrial spills, polluted fragile Ohio wetlands and angered local farmers. The company owes $1.5 million in restitution after demolishing a […]

Source: http://www.heraldsun.com, June 21, 2017 By: Virginia Bridges City officials think the substance that turned part of Ellerbee Creek an oily orange last week may have been due to a city contractor’s mistake. A city investigation found a city contractor improperly rerouted water meant to go to the city’s sanitary sewer system to a stormwater […]