This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1949. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
The Carborundum facility manufactured silicon carbide at this location from approximately 1949 until 1982, using petroleum coke and related industrial feedstocks in that production process. Waste byproduct — documented in site records as "Old Mix material or petroleum coke" — was disposed of at this adjacent fill site, leaving polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs and cPAHs) in the soil and debris. In 1992, approximately 9,500 cubic yards of contaminated soil and debris were excavated and removed, the excavated areas were backfilled with clean material, and an asphalt cap was installed. The site has reached No Further Action status but remains subject to a Restrictive Covenant, five-year periodic reviews, and 18-month cap inspections. 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.
Silicon carbide manufacturing at this property spanned more than three decades before 1982 — well within the period when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies were the industry standard and carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The PAH and cPAH contamination deposited through years of petroleum coke disposal is the kind of gradual, continuous environmental release those pre-1986 policies were written to address. The documented remediation costs — excavation of 9,500 cubic yards of impacted material, clean backfill, asphalt capping, and ongoing periodic monitoring and structural inspections — represent expenditures that historical carriers who issued CGL coverage during Carborundum's operational years may still be obligated to fund.
Restorical's role is to locate viable historical policies, determine whether a successful cost recovery claim is possible, and assist our clients and their legal counsel to obtain insurance coverage for costs already incurred. Restorical's forensic accounting team works to re-establish and document past cleanup expenditures, ensuring the strongest possible basis for recovery.
Recovering Costs from an Older Cleanup
If this site reached No Further Action years ago, the original cleanup expenditures may be difficult to reconstruct. Restorical's forensic accounting team specializes in re-establishing and documenting past cleanup costs — even decades later — to build the strongest possible basis for an insurance recovery claim.
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.
