XL Environmental Claims Administrators recently received a call from a client concerning an incident which involved one of its vehicles along a rural interstate highway in Michigan. The vehicle was carrying over 5,000 gallons of highly flammable styrene. While negotiating a dangerous curve, the driver of the vehicle lost control; it overturned on the roadway and came to rest in the median. Miraculously, our client’s driver escaped the vehicle with only scrapes and bruises. While the vehicle rested in the median, thousands of gallons of product flowed through several hundred feet of storm drain and into an adjacent wetland which served as the headwaters of a valuable trout fishery. Approximately 600 feet of stream bank as well as the adjacent wetland were initially affected by the spill.

Within minutes of receiving the report of the loss, XL Environmental Claims Administrators dispatched local emergency response contractors to contain the flow of product, which threatened the health of the stream as well as local groundwater supplies. A representative of XL Environmental Claims Administrators traveled to the scene to coordinate the complex response activities with state and local authorities and assist with local media relations. In addition, XL Environmental Claims Administrators worked to ease the concerns of on-site representatives of the product shipper, an international petrochemical company.

XL Environmental Claims Administrators coordinated the sample of potentially affected water supply wells in the vicinity of the loss and arranged for alternative supplies where necessary. In addition, XL Environmental Claims Administrators oversaw the activities of several contractors engaged in the cleanup and restoration of the affected resources. XL Environmental Claims Administrators is currently in the process of negotiating realistic cleanup goals for the area with state and local authorities and exploring cost-effective options for the restoration of the affected stream.

As a result of rapid, well-managed emergency response and legal counsel, significant liability exposure to our client is being minimized, thus ensuring a timely and cost-effective resolution of the technical and legal aspects of a high profile pollution incident.