Source: http://www.riskandinsurance.com, January 4, 2011 As the pressure on maintaining clean drinking water supplies mount, risk managers are advised to review their coverage. By CYRIL TUOHY, managing editor of Risk & Insurance® Life for risk managers of public water supplies has never been easy, and it’s expected to become more complicated still as the cost of […]

Acknowledgement to XL Environmental Most property transactions require a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment by either the contractual or lender agreement but does it fully protect the parties involved? There are limitations to a Phase I in that they only provide research into the historical use of the property. Whereas a Phase II assessment’s soil […]

Source: http://yosemite.epa.gov, Release date: 10/01/2009 Contact Information: Jim Vreeland, (415) 947-4298, vreeland.jim@epa.gov The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 9 announced today that the first set of results from recent air monitoring studies at three Southern California schools are now available and have been posted on the agency’s website. These schools were selected as part of […]

Source: http://yosemite.epa.gov, Release date: 10/01/2009 Contact Information: Bonnie Smith, 215-814-5543, smith.bonnie@epa.gov Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released initial data from air toxics monitoring outside the Riverside Elementary School in Berks County, Pa. EPA selected the Riverside School in Reading, Pa. as one of 63 schools in 22 states nationwide for air toxics monitoring. The […]

Source: Politics Daily As the rates of learning disabilities, autism and related conditions rise, the Environmental Protection Agency is preparing to release a roster of the pollutants likely to contribute to these or other neurological disorders. In an ongoing, three-year effort, an EPA team has determined which developmental neurotoxicants — chemicals that damage a fetal […]

Acknowledgement to Great American Insurance Group CINCINNATI–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Yesterday Standard & Poor’s Rating Services raised its financial strength ratings for AFG’s core insurance subsidiaries to ‘A+’ from ‘A’. At the same time, S&P raised its counterparty credit rating on American Financial Group to ‘BBB+’ from ‘BBB’. The outlook on all of these companies is stable.

Publication Date:  09/02/2010 Source:  Marketwatch SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — When dogs bite people, insurers often pay. But what happens when bed bugs bite? Bed bug infestations in the U.S. have multiplied at an alarming rate in recent years. A recent survey of almost 1,000 pest exterminators found that 95% of the firms had dealt with […]

Acknowledgement to Zurich A successful renewable energy project starts with a thorough risk analysis, along with an enterprise risk management program for the long run. Renewable energy developments on brownfield or other contaminated land is one of the fastest growing sectors of the U.S. economy. The EPA estimates that there are up to 490,000 sites […]

On April 22nd, 2010, the 2008 EPA Lead Rule became effective, which could potentially increase contractors’ risk for pollution liability claims. This Rule states that “contractors performing renovation, repair and painting projects that disturb lead-based paint in homes, child care facilities, and schools built before 1978 must be certified and must follow specific work practices […]

On February 1, 2010, the EPA effluent limitations guidelines and new source performance standards went into effect. These regulations were established in December 2009 “to control the discharge of pollutants from construction sites.” According to the U.S. EPA website, the following are some of the discharges prohibited: Wastewater from washout of concrete, from washout and […]

Dow Jones News Service (11/23/09) via Advisen The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued a final rule Monday aimed at reducing pollution from construction sites, saying that will significantly improve the quality of water nationwide. Read more.

The New York Times (1/20/10) via Advisen New York City school officials have agreed to assess the environmental risks posed by PCBs in school buildings and to come up with a plan for cleanups and for reducing potential exposure, federal officials said Tuesday.  Read more.