This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1969. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
Permalume Plastics Corporation began operations in 1969, manufacturing plasticized roofing compounds using resins, pigments, solvents, aluminum powders, and other industrial chemicals at its Vancouver, Clark County facility. Contamination was identified in 1993, prompting remediation under the Voluntary Cleanup Program that included the removal of 3,595 gallons of hazardous waste, building demolition in 1996, excavation of a septic tank and concrete pad, and four quarters of groundwater monitoring in 2005. Remediation activities spanning at least 1990 through 2006 resulted in a No Further Action determination. 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.
Plastics manufacturing operations at this property — involving solvents, resins, pigments, and aluminum powders — began seventeen years before 1986, when occurrence-based CGL policies were still the industry standard and carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The documented remediation expenditures here — hazardous waste drum removal, building demolition, soil excavation, and multi-year groundwater monitoring — are directly traceable to contamination that originated during that pre-1986 operating period. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies to Permalume during its operational window 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.
