An article written by Emily Canelo, senior vice president, underwriting
and contracts, and Myra Lobel, assistant vice president, underwriting and
contracts, of the Zurich Reinsurance Centre Inc., identified a combination
of factors that have the potential to produce significant new problems for
building owners and managers.
The writers identified four significant trends and reasons for increasing
indoor air quality (IAQ) litigation: substantial dollar awards, the
acceptance of chemical use in society, a diminishing sense of personal
responsibility, and aggressive environmental law firms.
In the past, most IAQ injury claims were initiated as occupational injury
cases, with little success. In recent years almost all have been
pursued as personal injury cases, and the success rate has gone up
substantially. Occupational injury claims are typically made under
workers' compensation policies while civil suits, alleging personal injury
associated with failure to maintain a healthful indoor environment, are most
often brought directly against building owners or operators.
Some of these claims have not been limited to injuries that result from
indoor air contaminants; claims have also been initiated as the result of
environmental stressors such as temperature, lighting, or noise.
Tort cases involving IAQ issues are on the rise and will not lessen in
the near future. Insurance companies are being forced to become more deeply
involved in managing IAQ problems. While government agencies are doing
little to assist building owner and managers with specific IAQ standards,
case law is defining what constitutes a "reasonable standard of
care."
The Environmental Protection Agency has described indoor air pollution as
one of the most significant environmental threats to human health. As
far back as 1994, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
proposed a set of extensive IAQ standards. Although these proposed
standards were later withdrawn, OSHA did identify many of the problem areas
associated with attempts to maintain a healthful indoor air environment.
IAQ investigations conducted by the National Institute for Occupational
Safety and Health (NIOSH) have detected and identified hundreds of different
volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in indoor environments. Biological
contaminants such as mold, mildew, fungi, bacteria, viruses, and animal and
insect droppings also can contribute to indoor air problems. In
addition, combustion products such as carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide,
sulphur dioxide, and benzene can find their way into indoor air
environments.
An awareness and understanding of IAQ issues is essential for those
involved in the ownership and management of commercial buildings. A
comprehensive IAQ plan, describing in detail the actions required to address
IAQ complaints, is a minimum requirement.
Isolating the cause of IAQ complaints can be daunting. In many instances,
the source of the problem cannot be determined with certainty by the
building environmental staff. In these cases, where do the owners and
operators go for competent professional services?
In an effort to help building owners and managers, many insurance
companies provide investigative services to assist policyholders to help
them identify IAQ contaminates and improve working conditions. Some
insurance companies maintain laboratories that employ chemists, fire
experts, physicists, biologists, and IAQ managers that are available at no
or very reasonable costs to policyholders.
Two examples of these new services are represented by The Hartford and
Liberty Mutual Insurance Company. While both provide a wide range of
services, The Hartford concentrates on the causes of and solutions to
air-quality and chemical-compound quandaries, while Liberty Mutual
concentrates on job-related stresses and the effects they have on health and
disability insurance claims.
While a large portion of the work done at The Hartford lab is done for
their corporate customers as part of the customer's policies, the lab also
accepts work from individuals and companies -- even other insurance
companies.
Liberty Mutual is devoted to research, and its work is largely academic.
Liberty Mutual spends about $8 million per year to operate its lab and
doesn't take jobs from outside individuals or companies. The research aids
Liberty Mutual, the largest workers compensation insurer in the United
States, in reducing job-related accidents at customer workplaces.
The Hartford lab's priorities are air and product quality in the
workplace, although it handles a handful of paint and asbestos samples from
individual homeowners. With the use of state-of-the-art mass spectrometers,
gas chromatographs, inductively coupled plasmas, and microscopes, The
Hartford's staff processes thousands of samples a year, ranging from
asbestos fibers to welding dust.
Lab staffers must also keep up on quality-control issues within the
industry, study published research, and take courses for re-accreditation
from the American Industrial Hygiene Association every three years.
Charges associated with tests for non-policy holders are cost effective
though not inexpensive. Depending on the sample and the examination
technique, The Hartford charges between $28 to $300 per sample. The lab also
rents out air-quality testing and noise pollution testing equipment for
between $125 to $350, depending on the instruments and length of rent.
Many of The Hartford's commercial policyholders receive the lab's services
as part of their policy premiums.
Case law continues to demand that building owners and managers take an
active approach to IAQ issues. An active IAQ plan incorporating
well-reasoned, prompt responses to reported complaints is mandatory. A
manager’s ability to demonstrate a commitment to providing a reasonable
standard of care is essential in the event of litigation. Employing a
knowledgeable person to assist in isolating the cause of a complaint will
help demonstrate this commitment. Your insurance company could be a valuable
resource to assist you in managing these complex IAQ problems.
Environmental
Support Solutions (formerly Environ.com), Tempe, Arizona, provides compliance
software, training, and consulting to organizations affected by refrigerant,
indoor air quality, waste, and health & safety issues. For more
information, e-mail ESS at info@ess-home.com,
call them at 1-800-289-6116, ext. 1, or visit their compliance information
center Web site at http://www.ess-home.com/.
*Copyrighted
by Environmental Support Solutions, 1620 W. Fountainhead Pkwy., Tempe, AZ
85252.
