This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility predating 1986. Historical insurance policies issued during operations at this property and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This industrial property was operated by Pacific Grinding Wheel Company — now Radiac Abrasives — as a manufacturing facility with an underground storage tank used for used solvents and waste hydraulic oil. Cleanup under the Voluntary Cleanup Program began in 1992 with the removal of that UST and 65 cubic yards of contaminated soil, followed by quarterly groundwater monitoring across seven monitoring wells from 1998 through 2000. The site has received a No Further Action determination; residual contaminated soils remain contained beneath permanent structures and asphalt, managed by a restrictive covenant and ongoing five-year periodic reviews. 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.
The petroleum hydrocarbon and solvent contamination at this property originated from an underground storage tank whose operational life predates 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The documented remediation expenditures — tank removal, soil excavation, groundwater pumping, multi-year monitoring, well installation and decommissioning — were all incurred to address releases tied to those pre-1986 industrial operations. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies during the tank's active service period may still be obligated to recover those cleanup costs.
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.
