This property has a documented history as a facility using PFAS-containing firefighting foam going back to 1950. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.
This property served as the Northwest Airlines maintenance hangar and flight kitchen facility at Sea-Tac International Airport, with underground storage tanks installed as part of the original building construction — dating back more than forty years before a 1990 site assessment, placing initial operations no later than the late 1940s. Additional fueling infrastructure was removed as early as 1965. Cleanup under the Standard Cleanup program has included removal of multiple USTs and one aboveground storage tank in 1990, 1991, and 1996, excavation and off-site treatment of approximately 125 to 150 cubic yards of petroleum-impacted soil, operation of a soil vapor extraction system from 1992 through 1996, and preparation of a cleanup action plan in 1999. Remediation work is ongoing. That history could support an insurance cost recovery claim against carriers who issued insurance policies 40+ years ago.
Why Historical Insurance Policies May Be Accessible
Pre-1986 Commercial General Liability (CGL) policies were occurrence-based and did not contain an effective pollution exclusion in Washington. If contamination occurred while those policies were active, those historical insurance carriers may still have a legal obligation to fund the cleanup costs, even if the business closed or the property changed hands.
Petroleum contamination at this facility originated from fueling infrastructure installed decades before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The documented remediation expenditures — tank removals spanning three campaigns, large-scale soil excavation, four years of vapor extraction, and continued cleanup planning — trace directly to releases from those pre-1986 operations. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies covering the airport facility during that operational window may be obligated both to reimburse past cleanup costs and to fund the remediation still ahead.
Restorical's role is to locate viable historical policies, determine whether a successful coverage claim is possible, and assist our clients and their legal counsel to obtain insurance coverage. Restorical then manages the claim, including accounting, to ensure the cleanup is funded in a timely manner.
What We Look For
- Historical insurance policies (pre-1986)
- Policy numbers, carrier names, and coverage periods
- Connection between contamination timing and policy period
- Evidence linking cleanup obligation to insured activity
What We Deliver
- Historical Coverage Chart
- Trigger Analysis & Property/Policy Nexus
- Coverage strategy with recommendations
- Insurance funding for your remediation
- Claims Management & Forensic Accounting
The Restorical Proven Process
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Contact UsThis analysis is preliminary and based on publicly available records. Restorical Research is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice.