Author: Elizabeth Hemingway

Environmental Cleanup 101: Understanding what to expect during the remediation process

Posted on by Elizabeth Hemingway

THE ENVIRONMENTAL CLEANUP PROCESS CAN BE CHALLENGING FOR DRY CLEANERS BECAUSE IT’S TYPICALLY A ONCE IN A LIFETIME EXPERIENCE–SIMILAR TO BEING CURED OF A MEDICAL DIAGNOSIS.

Environmental lightbulb in front of chalkboard with remediation and health-related sketches

BY: JEFF CARNAHAN

For those who don’t frequently deal with environmental cleanup (also known as remediation), the reasoning, objectives, and process can be a bit of a black box. It’s not dissimilar to how most of us feel about a medical procedure. Here are three things people usually feel before embarking on a medical procedure:

  1. We must rely on the expertise and knowledge of others to even know there is a specific problem;
  2. We trust that the healing procedure being proposed will fix the problem
  3. We don’t really know what the procedure will be like, but we know that it might hurt.

The medical analogy is a particularly good analogy for the environmental investigation and cleanup process. Previously, I’ve discussed Environmental Investigations 101: Understanding PCE Contamination and how the collection of subsurface samples and the application of scientific principles result in a picture of what the contamination is, where it is, and how bad the problem is. In the medical analogy, this would be the phase consisting of seeing the doctor with the evidence you have that there might be a problem, getting tests completed like an MRI or a biopsy, and receiving the diagnosis.

Infographic of the environmental remediation process and its analogous medical treatment process steps
An easy way to understand the environmental cleanup process is to compare environmental remediation to the medical treatment process.

Upon hearing that a problem exists, the anxiety can start to take hold for the patient because questions arise, for which the answers are unknown. Some questions may include:

  1. What can be done about it?
  2. Is there a cure?
  3. How long will this take to cure?
  4. Does my doctor know what they are doing?
  5. How much is this going to cost?!
  6. Will my insurance cover it?

These questions represent the unknown, and the unknown can be terrifying. Any doctor will tell you that some people are so afraid of these questions that they’d rather not even know if they have a problem, and foolishly never seek a medical exam. Any doctor will tell you if you think you have a problem…find it and fix it. You’ll live a longer and happier life. With the medical analogy in mind, I’d like to focus this article back on the environmental remediation process to answer as many questions as possible for you, to eliminate the unknowns, and to alleviate the associated anxiety.

THE FEASIBILITY STUDY – WHAT’S THE CURE?
So, let’s say that from the environmental investigation your dry cleaner site has just been diagnosed with a nasty case of contamination by hazardous chemicals. Since the goal of your environmental practitioner is to ensure that the problem gets fixed, there first needs to be an assessment of all the potential cleanup technologies that could be used alongside the specific characteristics of your site. Questions that need to be answered include:

  1. Are any people currently being exposed to the contamination?
  2. What amount of contaminant may safely remain after cleanup and still be suitable for future planned land use (i.e. what are appropriate cleanup objectives)?
  3. How will each potential remedial technology interact with the exact type of soils and geologic materials beneath your site?
  4. How will the naturally occurring geochemistry of soils and groundwater interact with any potential treatment chemicals?
  5. How long would each remediation technology take to reach the cleanup objectives if implemented?
  6. What are the comparable unit costs per measure of contaminant removed from the ground for each anticipated technology?

Ultimately, the question to be answered is, What is the best and most cost-effective cleanup technology to meet our objectives? This process is called a Feasibility Study and it determines which cleanup approach is the most feasible.

Read about a former dry cleaning site that we cleaned up in 120 days with thermal technology.

During the feasibility study, as the business or property owner, you’ll need to make sure to speak up and let your consultant know if there are any limitations that they should be considering for the cleanup approach. For example, parking areas that absolutely must remain clear during business hours, areas of the building that cannot be disturbed no matter what, or even simple things like traffic flow patterns for your drive-through lane. We have done work for a lot of dry cleaners, so we always think to ask about these kinds of things, but not every remediation engineer does. All your business considerations could have a significant impact on which cleanup technology can be implemented. If your building is located directly over the area of soil contamination, a common remedial technology could be demolition and excavation. While this may make perfect sense to the remediation engineer, having your building torn down in order to dig a big hole may not exactly fit into your business operation plans. The bottom line here is to speak up early in the process and make sure your business needs are heard before the project begins.

INITIAL CLEANUP ACTION – THE SURGERY
Once the appropriate cleanup objectives and remediation technology have been decided, there are a few steps to go through before work can begin. Typically, but not always, the regulatory agency will want to look at your remediation plan and have a chance to comment on it, or even to approve it. Once the agency has given the head-nod, an important point to remember is that you want to have the money conversation before you send the plan to the regulatory agency. Just like you always want to check whether or not your insurance will cover your medical procedure before you get it done. I talk about the cost of cleanup and funding alternatives a lot, so I’m going to skip that conversation, for‌ ‌now, other than to say that the money talk is the very first talk that you should have way before the investigation process even begins.

When you have gotten the green light to get started on the remedial action, things will start to move quickly because it’s go-time. Typically, when remediation work begins, there will be a flurry of activity for two weeks to a month while the initial work is completed. Remedial strategies commonly consist of an aggressive contaminant reduction effort, followed by a long period of monitoring to see how it has worked. During the initial treatment, there may be drill rigs, dump trucks, trailers, and people all over your site, and things could even be a bit messy.

Your environmental consultant should have provided you with a detailed schedule of events and they should keep you informed during the process so that you know exactly what to expect. You’ll need that information to keep your customers informed. I have had many clients actually take this time to post signage explaining to their customers that the business is doing their part to clean up an old environmental problem, demonstrating their commitment to their community and customers.

Are you looking for an environmental consultant? Read 5 Considerations When Selecting an Environmental Consultant for Dry Cleaners.

The Dygert Family, owners of Mercury Cleaners holding sign in front of business promoting their environmental remediation efforts
The Dygert family proudly stands in front of their dry cleaning store with a sign that lets their customers know they are remediating environmental contamination. Learn more about how the Dygert family addressed their environmental contamination.

POST-REMEDIAL MONITORING – THE FOLLOW-UP VISITS
After the initial cleanup effort is undertaken, things will slow down a lot. Monitoring of soil gas and groundwater conditions will need to be performed on a regular, routine quarterly basis for at least a year or so as the contaminant plume reacts to the aggressive, upfront cleanup effort. So, every three months your consultant will come back and collect the monitoring samples, and then they will be gone again. As mentioned previously, it is important to stay involved in the process so that you know how things are going. If you aren’t interested in the scientific details of the remediation monitoring results, at least understand the current conditions as concentrations of the contaminant should start lowering and getting closer to the cleanup objectives. When contaminant levels do reach the closure objectives, if all has gone according to plan, you get to start another monitoring period so that the regulatory agency has confidence that there won’t be a rebound or any remaining post-treatment contaminant in the future.

You can see how the environmental cleanup process gets a reputation for taking a long time because it does. Even after the bulk of actual cleanup activities are completed, there are likely at least two to three years of post-remedial monitoring that needs to happen. Fortunately, routine monitoring isn’t as disruptive as the initial cleanup action, but every few months you will get a reminder that you aren’t quite out of the woods yet, and that can be frustrating. Another thing to make sure you talk to your consultant about: There will be one or more drums of purge water generated during groundwater sampling that will probably need to be stored behind your building for a couple of weeks after each sampling event. Your consultant will label it and manage for its disposal, but there will need to be a short wait while analytical data comes back from the lab and removal can be arranged. If it’s in the way or takes too long to be picked-up, say something.

REGULATORY CLOSURE – CURED
When follow-up monitoring results show that contaminant concentrations have been reduced and have stayed that way, your consultant will submit all the results to the regulatory agency and ask for case closure. Sometimes this is called a No Further Action status. This is one last time to be patient because most regulatory agencies could take anywhere from two to six months to make this determination and set you free.

The site remediation process can be long, taxing and scary, but hopefully, these insights will give you a little bit of an insider’s perspectives on what to expect. Sometimes consultants and attorneys forget that even though they deal with this process every day, you don’t. Ask them to take the time to explain things to you in detail and help you understand what it will look like from your perspective and your customers’ perspectives. As commonly said, knowing is half the battle.

If you are going through the cleanup process and you have questions, or just want to bounce something off me, drop me an email at jcarnahan@enviroforensics.com. I’d be more than happy to have a conversation with you. I’m here to help.

Contact EnviroForensics, the dry cleaning industry’s most trusted environmental consultant.

As seen in Cleaner & Launderer

Headshot of Jeff CarnahanJeff Carnahan, President at EnviroForensics
Jeff Carnahan, LPG, has 20+ years of environmental consulting and remediation experience. His technical expertise focuses on the investigation and interpretation of subsurface releases of hazardous substances for the purpose of evaluating and controlling the risk and cost implications. He has focused on being a partner with the dry cleaning industry for the past decade, and he’s a frequent contributor to the national dry cleaning publication Cleaner & Launderer. He is an industry leader in understanding that environmental risk includes not only cleanup costs, but also known and unknown third-party liability.

Dry Cleaner Becomes Environmental Steward by Participating in Indiana Voluntary Remediation Program

Posted on by Elizabeth Hemingway
The Dygert family (left to right: Linda, Brett, Norm) proudly stands in front of their dry cleaning store with their community relations sign that lets their customers know they are remediating environmental contamination.

Dry cleaners can either be proactive or reactive when it comes to finding out if they have perc contamination. An Indiana dry cleaner was given a heads-up about possible contamination on their property when a neighboring business conducted a Phase 1 as part of the real estate transaction process to sell their business. Instead of burying their heads, the dry cleaner faced the contamination head-on by joining their state’s voluntary remediation program (VRP).

Mercury Cleaners is a family-owned small business and has been owned and operated by the Dygert family since 1950. They’re proud members of the Valparaiso, Indiana community, and after cleaning up perc contamination from decades of operating their business, they’re still serving their loyal customers today.

Finding Out About the Contamination

The neighboring gas station near the dry cleaner was preparing to sell its business. Therefore, the gas station conducted a Phase 1 Environmental Site Assessment (ESA) as part of their due diligence required by their real estate transaction. The Phase 1 ESA found PCE contamination in the soil and groundwater which could not have originated from the gas station. The gas station owners alerted the Dygert family to the situation.

Mercury Cleaners received a Special Notice of Liability from the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM). The Dygert family was very concerned about what would happen next and what it would cost them. The Dygert family couldn’t afford to pay for the clean up on their own. If they were forced to pay for the clean up of the historical contamination, they would have had to go into bankruptcy and close their long-standing family business.

The Dygert family already knew of EnviroForensics because they had attended dry cleaning seminars where EnviroForensics CEO Steve Henshaw presented about insurance archeology and the remediation of PCE contamination. They also read EnviroForensics monthly column The Environmental Corner in Cleaner & Launderer.

EnviroForensics explained that we could conduct confidential insurance archeology to locate historical insurance coverage and tender those claims with their insurance carriers in order to pay for the cleanup of the PERC contamination.

“Working with EnviroForensics was a huge relief and the nights weren’t so sleepless because if Mercury Cleaners had to foot the bill for this, we wouldn’t have stayed in business. If you want to sell your business, you’re going to have to deal with this. If anyone is thinking about hiring EnviroForensics, I would say, without a doubt, go for it.” –The Dygert Family, Mercury Cleaners

This is when Mercury Cleaners chose to voluntarily participate in the IDEM Voluntary Remediation Program (VRP) and become environmental stewards. The VRP encourages environmental cleanups to mitigate the risk that contaminants pose to human health and the environment. They do this by providing a process for property owners to voluntarily address environmental investigations and remediations on a property that may be contaminated. The VRP along with secured funds through insurance archeology provided the funding safety net the Dygert family needed to confidently begin the investigation and remediation process.

In this video, the Dygert family shares more about their environmental and remediation process with EnviroForensics.

The Environmental Investigation and Remediation Work

The EnviroForensics team was able to work with the Dygert family to develop an environmental investigation and remediation plan that respected their wishes for continued business operations, while also incorporating multiple technologies into a holistic and efficient plan. This plan involved adjusted schedules for the EnviroForensics team to avoid disrupting business operations during their business hours–and even the temporary relocation of their prized rose bushes.

As part of the environmental investigation, EnviroForensics conducted vapor intrusion sampling and completed soil and groundwater sampling for the site. EnviroForensics used both ozone sparging (OS) and soil vapor extraction (SVE) technologies to remediate soil impacts, including a soil gas plume, and groundwater contamination.

What is a SVE system?

The SVE “sparging” system shown on the graphic injects compressed air approximately 45 feet into the ground to treat groundwater and remove the soil impacts with a heavy-duty industrial vacuum system. This method of treatment effectively cleans up the soil and groundwater, reduces potential waste to landfills, and minimizes associated local concerns through indoor air. A system similar to the one in the graphic is still in operation at Mercury Cleaners as part of their ongoing operations and maintenance, and monitoring for their remediation and future site closure.

This is a graphic of a Soil Vapor Extraction system with an above ground and subsurface view of how it works.

Mercury Cleaners complete their cleanup at no cost to them

EnviroForensics was able to help Mercury Cleaners make a claim to the insurance carriers, introduce them to legal counsel, and conducted the necessary investigation and clean up activities to secure regulatory site closure. Owner Brett Dygert says, “With EnviroForensics help they were able to not only get the clean up started, but found the money to pay for it to let me stay in business.”

Mercury Cleaners and the Dygert family have not paid any out-of-pocket costs to clean up the PCE contamination.

 

We Find Funds. We Clean Up. You Stay Open.® Contact us today for a confidential consultation.

Insights from the 2019 Minnesota Drycleaners Association Annual Meeting

Posted on by Elizabeth Hemingway

EnviroForensics’ Account Executive, John Neu, and PolicyFind’s Director of Operations, Kristen Brown, share insights from the 2019 MCA Education and Annual Meeting.

EnviroForensics’ John Neu and PolicyFind’s Kristen Brown were pleased to attend the Minnesota Dry Cleaners Association’s Education and Annual Meeting, Unity of the Industry. The Minnesota Cleaners Association (MCA) has existed for 30 years and serves the dry cleaning industry and its customers.

The MCA annual meeting was packed with information about the industry and had a dynamic lineup of speakers, including Dennis Schmitt, President of DLI; Sherry Munyon, MCA Lobbyist; Nathan Landwehr, Minnesota Technical Assistance Program; and us, John Neu of EnviroForensics, and Kristen Brown of PolicyFind.

Attendees sharing knowledge.

Annual Meeting Overview

The educational event kicked off with Keynote Speaker, Drycleaning & Laundry Institute (DLI) President Dennis Schmitt. Mr. Schmitt shared with the audience the organization’s deep-rooted history in the drycleaning industry. DLI has been the premier international trade association for garment care professionals since 1883 and represents over 10,000 retail drycleaners in the United States alone. Mr. Schmitt, in his presentation, Unity of the Industry touted the importance of providing ongoing educational opportunities, working together, and providing a clear message and outreach through social media outlets.

DLI President Dennis Schmitt.

Sherry Munyon is a Lobbyist for the MCA and spoke next at the annual meeting. Ms. Munyon shared her expertise regarding legislative processes and procedures and explained how recent legislation impacting the Minnesota Drycleaner Fund passed and what it means for dry cleaners in the state.

Sherry Munyon.

We, EnviroForensics and PolicyFind, addressed the group and shared a presentation about investigating and remediating environmental contamination. We shared information about Insurance Archeology and the potential of finding funds through old insurance policies to pay for investigation, remediation, and legal fees.

EnviroForensics’ John Neu discussing environmental investigation and remediation. For more information on how to select an environmental consultant, read Five Considerations When Selecting an Environmental Consultant for Dry Cleaners

 

PolicyFind’s Kristen Brown discussing confidential insurance archeology and historical commercial general liability policies. To learn more, read How Does It Work? Insurance Archeology and CGL Policies

Rounding out the presenters, MnTAP’s Nathan Landwehr presented cost-saving measures and practices for dry cleaners. Mr. Landwehr spoke about the MnTAP program and its free assessments that could lead to savings on energy, water, and cleaning chemical usage.

After the educational sessions, we enjoyed networking on a Prime Rib Dinner Cruise on Treasure Island Resort & Casino’s elegant cruise liner, Spirit of the Water, on the scenic Mississippi River, followed by a raffle and silent auction.

Networking aboard the Spirit of the Water.
Attendees enjoying the prime rib dinner on the Mississippi River.
Attendees at the raffle.

If you want to become a member of Minnesota Dry Cleaners Association, visit minnesotadrycleaners.org

John Neu, Account Executive, EnviroForensics
John Neu has 13+ years of experience in the environmental field. He interfaces with business owners, property owners, developers, real estate professionals, and city officials to help solve their environmental challenges. He is based out of EnviroForensics’ Wisconsin office and works with clients in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Georgia, and Alabama. He is also a board member of the South Eastern Fabricare Association (SEFA) and is an active member of the Wisconsin Fabricare Institute (WFI).

 

Kristen Brown, Director of Operations, PolicyFind
Kristen Brown combines her profession as an insurance archeologist with 10+ years as an investigative journalist to reconstruct historical insurance coverage for clients. Her approach is both comprehensive and detailed in order to bring historical CGL policies to bear on current contaminated sites. Brown has successfully located evidence of liability insurance coverage on 150+ projects. Her clients include dry cleaners, manufacturers, municipalities, property owners, attorneys, insurance companies, and companies going through mergers and acquisitions. Brown also works on behalf of policyholders defending against environmental toxic tort and asbestos exposure.

EnviroForensics Hosts Environmental Workshop for Herron High School

Posted on by Elizabeth Hemingway

EnviroForensics’ Second Environmental Science Education workshop introduces Herron High School’s AP environmental science students to the daily operations of environmental scientists, real-world scientific applications of concepts learned in the classroom and helpful advice on pursuing a degree and a career in the environmental field. The workshop includes hands-on presentations covering topics like chemical properties of typical contaminants, fate, and transport of contaminants in the environment, and investigation and cleanup techniques. The objective is to give students some perspective on how the lesson they’re learning inside the classroom can apply to their future careers. The workshop is hosted in the Field Lab where EnviroForensics personnel and interns come to learn the basics of environmental field sampling or brush up on their own skills.

Environmental Science Education Workshop Included…

A Site Visit

A Welcome Tour at EnviroForensics

Presentations Covering topics like: Groundwater and Soil, Vapor Intrusion, Remediation Technologies, Site Redevelopment, Risk Communication, and Education Requirements for the job.

Herron High School is a public charter college preparatory school located in downtown Indianapolis providing classical and liberal arts-based education (math, English, science, social studies, Latin, music, performing arts and visual arts) and serves more than 700 students grade 9-12 of varying cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds. 

The workshop is led by Casey McFall, Director of Field Services at EnviroForensics.

Special thanks to all the people who made today special: Casey McFall, Collin Martin, Morgan Saltsgiver, Matt Bono, Brianne Inman, Grace Randall, and Stephen Henshaw. 

Top 10 Resources for Drycleaners

Posted on by Elizabeth Hemingway

THE FABRICARE INDUSTRY DOESN’T HAVE IT EASY THESE DAYS. INDUSTRY CHANGES THAT ARE FORMING ON THE HORIZON WILL COME TO PASS–FASHION, INCOME, AGE, SOCIETAL TRENDS, AND DISRUPTIVE BUSINESS MODELS WILL CONTINUE TO SHAPE THE DEMANDS OF CUSTOMERS.

Dry cleaners will continue to evolve and adjust to the market just like they’ve done for over a century. If you’re one of the 33,000 dry cleaners in the United States, it can feel like trying times. But you’re not alone. In fact, you have a large community of dry cleaners–as evident by the 11,000 attendees at this year’s Clean Show–and resources at your fingertips.

From government resources and associations to publications and thought leaders, here’s a list of the top 10 resources available to dry cleaners.

1. NATIONAL AND REGIONAL DRY CLEANING ASSOCIATIONS

Here’s a few of the dry cleaning association logos.

Drycleaning & Laundry Institute International (DLI) is a membership-based organization aimed to empower drycleaning entrepreneurs and their staff to offer the best quality and customer service in the industry.

DLI has a network of thousands of dry cleaners. DLI’s blog regularly shares industry best practices on all dry cleaning and laundry topics from clothing drop off processes to removing stains, cleaning, finishing, and packaging. DLI also offers valuable business information including employee relations, hiring, firing, governmental and running a small business.

DLI’s School of Drycleaning Technology offers several courses throughout the year, online certification testing and renewals, and courses across the US.

Check out some of the associations available to dry cleaners throughout the U.S.

2. CLEANER AND LAUNDERER

Cleaner and Launderer has been around since 1960. Originally, the publication was called “Western Cleaner & Launderer,” and served industry news and information to dry cleaners throughout California. Now, readership and distribution have grown exponentially with copies of the monthly edition landing in mailboxes across all 50 states. In 2007, the name was changed to “Cleaner and Launderer” as the brand expanded its reach in digital and social networks. Helpful articles in Cleaner and Launderer run the gamut from industry updates and employee morale tips to monthly columns, such as:

  • Word From the Street, where John Leano shares business management.
  • the Environmental Corner, where EnviroForensics’ Jeff Carnahan shares educational content on environmental contamination and cleanup, advice on addressing environmental liabilities, and tips for finding the funds to pay for environmental cleanups and legal fees
  • Show Your Customers Your Expertise, where Kenny Slatten provides textile treatment insights and tips.
The front page of Cleaner and Launderer’s July 2019 issue.

3. AMERICAN DRYCLEANER

American Drycleaner is one of the leading dry cleaning publication in the country. Distributed in both print and digital format, the magazine boasts a wide variety of resources for both small and large dry cleaning business owners. Their mission is to help dry cleaners run their businesses better, with up-to-the-minute information on industry news, events and trends. Other valuable resources on their website include:

  • Expert Management Advice
  • Marketing and Production
  • Insights on Equipment and Supplies
Don’t miss our president’s recent interview, Sprout Out: Talking about Site Remediation, with American Drycleaner editor Tim Burke.

4. NATIONAL CLOTHESLINE

National Clothesline is a free publication for dry cleaners and is read by close to 20,000 cleaners and suppliers across the country and around the world. The newsletter provides news and information needed by garment care professionals to be successful in a rapidly changing industry. On the National Clothesline website, along with its digital edition, you will also find a “Resources” page that includes:

  • An online forum for dry cleaners
  • A directory of business consultants
  • A list of courses and seminars provided to dry cleaners
  • Books, DVDs, and other forms of helpful media
  • Government regulations for dry cleaners
The front page of the National Clothesline’s July 2019 issue.

5. FABRICARE MAGAZINE
DLI publishes the Fabricare magazine on a quarterly basis and provides resources and education to dry cleaners. This magazine features educational, management and industry resources and covers topics like

The cover of Fabricare’s 2019 second quarter issue.

6. ENVIROFORENSICS BLOG

As the dry cleaning industry’s most trusted environmental consultant, EnviroForensics’ Blog aims to empower dry cleaners with a host of helpful articles, educational content, and informative posts about the different issues, process and questions that dry cleaners encounter when they’re addressing their environmental liabilities.

Recent blog posts cover topics like:

EnviroForensics also hosts educational webinars, such as How to Use Old Insurance to Pay for Environmental Cleanup.

7. POLICYFIND BLOG

PolicyFind is an insurance archeology firm that locates historical insurance policies for business and property owners, municipalities, attorneys and private equity firms. So, if you’re looking for your old insurance policies to help pay for an environmental investigation and cleanup, PolicyFind™, is a great resource. PolicyFind’s blog is a helpful resource, too, with educational content and case law updates.

PolicyFind’s blog

8. U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

Environmental laws vary from state to state but ultimately echo the laws at the federal level. The United States Environmental Protection Agency has its guidance on common dry cleaning solvents like PERC posted to their website, alongside thousands of peer-reviewed studies and other archives.

To find more information on your state’s health and environmental agencies, environmental topics and laws and regulations, visit the EPA’s Health and Environmental Agencies of U.S. States and Territories.

The EPA’s webpage on tetrachloroethylene (Perc, PCE).

9. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR: OSHA REGULATIONS FOR DRY CLEANERS
It’s important for dry cleaners to up to date on occupational safety and health. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has it’s set standards for dry cleaners along with resources for hazard recognition on their website as a resource for dry cleaners.

The OSHA standards resource webpage for dry cleaners.

10. SMALL BUSINESS OWNER MARKETING TOOLS
Drycleaners are small business owners and they have to run an entire business while maintaining their drycleaning operations. It’s a lot to handle and it isn’t for the faint of heart. How can drycleaners keep up with the digital demands on small business owners? They can use marketing tools to help get the word out about their business and share their unique selling points in a way customers will want to engage with your business.

  • Wix and Squarespace are helpful for website development and management.
  • Mailchimp is a great tool for email marketing. You can update your clients on discounts, news or best practices for taking care of their clothes.
  • Canva is an easy graphic design tool for social media graphics, posters, flyers, and brochure templates.
  • Hootsuite and SproutSocial are good tools for social media scheduling and management.

Sign up for EnviroForensics Monthly Dry Cleaner Newsletter

5 Things to Know about Vapor Intrusion, Your Home, and Your Health

Posted on by Elizabeth Hemingway

LEARN HOW VAPOR INTRUSION CAN IMPACT INDOOR AIR QUALITY IN BUILDINGS AND THREATEN HUMAN HEALTH, AND FIND OUT WHAT CAN BE DONE TO MITIGATE THIS RISK. 

Vapor Intrusion, or VI, occurs when contamination beneath the ground emits toxic vapors that can travel through the soil and enter the interior spaces of houses and buildings. The types of contamination most commonly associated with VI concerns are industrial solvents like chlorinated volatile organic compounds (CVOCs), and petroleum products like gasoline.  The Environmental Protection Agency just released final guidance on vapor intrusion issues, which regulates how inhalation exposures from VI are assessed and controlled.

There has been a great deal of concern in recent years about the potential for harmful health effects related to VI exposure, and many people are unintentionally involved.  In turn, there has been a lot of concern from those who hold legal liability for the contamination, even if they didn’t cause it.  Every day, it seems, a new VI case emerges where one or more homeowner learns that they and their family may have been exposed in the past, or are now being exposed, to harmful vapors from contamination.  Even commercial buildings and strip malls can be subject to VI.  The affected buildings are typically located near, but not necessarily adjacent, to current or historical drycleaning facilities, factories, or gas stations.  If you own a home or building located near a commercial corridor or close to a manufacturing area, you may wonder if VI is a problem at your home.  Here are 5 things to consider when you ask that question and contemplate the potential answer.

1. SUBSURFACE VAPORS CAN TRAVEL A SIGNIFICANT DISTANCE FROM ITS SOURCE
When looking around your home or building to determine if it’s located near a potential source of harmful vapors, keep in mind that vapors travel in the subsurface.  They move within the open, air-filled spaces in the soils above the water table.  There are many scientific factors and variables that affect the direction and extent to which vapors move.  As such, it’s problematic to predict.  Generally, many regulatory agencies use a rule of thumb whereby if a structure is within a 100-foot radius of a release of volatile contaminants, it should be further assessed for potential VI issues.

2. PAST SOURCES OF VI MAY BE HIDDEN FROM VIEW BY PROPERTY REDEVELOPMENT.
Just because there isn’t a gas station or dry cleaner near you now, it doesn’t mean that one didn’t used to be there. Commercial and industrial properties are being bought and sold on a daily basis, and individual commercial tenants come and go. Especially in busy traffic corridors that pass through residential parts of town. As a result, there may be no indication that a dry cleaner operated in your corner strip mall for 20 years, and then moved out 10 years ago. Also, you can probably expect that in older parts of town, just about every corner of a busy traffic intersection accommodated a petroleum gas station at some point in history. There are ways of learning about the commercial history and land transfer records at local libraries. An individual can go find the City Directories and look it up.  There are also commercially available sources of this data for wider real estate uses.

3. WHEN A SOURCE OF VI IS FOUND BY ITS RESPONSIBLE PARTY, THEY ARE REQUIRED TO FULLY INVESTIGATE AND ADDRESS ANY POTENTIAL EXPOSURE. 
Although the scientific study of how vapors of different industrial origins move within the subsurface is still developing, and the health effects related to breathing them are still under evaluation, the federal, state and local environmental regulatory agencies are very keyed-in to identifying sites with potential VI issues. If a commercial property transaction results in the knowledge that past use included an activity that may have potentially resulted in contamination, it is most often confirmed or denied through the collection and analysis of soil and groundwater samples. If contamination is identified, the state environmental regulatory agency is notified.  The responsible party for the contamination then is required to begin the process of investigating the extent of the impacts and finding who may be exposed to the contamination. The potential for VI is being watched very closely by the agencies. So it is possible, and probably a good idea, to contact your state environmental regulatory agency to inquire if there are any active contamination investigations or cleanups occurring in your vicinity. Their websites may actually have interactive maps or searchable databases where you can find this information on your own. If there is a site in your neighborhood and your structure is within 100 feet of it, you can likely expect a request to for sampling. The best way to know if there is a concern is to let the environmental professionals do their job.  Be sure to put in your access agreement that they’ll let you have the results.

4. THE NEED TO INTERVENE IF VI IS OCCURRING AT YOUR HOME OR BUILDING IS ASSESSED BY THE REGULATORY AGENCIES USING CONSERVATIVE SCREENING LEVELS.
The health effects related to the inhalation of vapors from industrial contamination are still being evaluated.  The exact amount of individual chemicals that are “safe” to breathe is not yet known.  By using overly conservative toxicological factors, and by overestimating the amount of chemicals that individuals may be exposed to, the agencies have developed a set of “screening criteria” to frame exposure.  The goal is to overestimate the potential for harmful effects of VI exposure, and therein addressed and eliminated every actual exposure scenario. The reality for occupants of commercial or residential buildings who are breathing contaminated air, is that the health-based screening level communicated to you is not actually the level at which your health will be immediately harmed. That doesn’t mean that you have to continue breathing it, but there is no need to panic.

5. EXPOSURES IN THE HOME FROM NATURALLY OCCURRING RADON GAS AND VI FROM CONTAMINATION ARE ELIMINATED IN ESSENTIALLY THE SAME FASHION.
In many parts of the country, radioactive radon gas is constantly emanating from decaying rocks and soils. Radon comes into contact with occupied structures and is subsequently breathed by people. This is exactly the same process as VI from contaminant sources. The process of determining if radon is present in private homes has been part of the residential real estate process for many years.  As such, many more people are familiar with radon than VI. The good news is that if your home or commercial building has a radon mitigation system already installed and in operation, you may be protected from subsurface VI concerns. Typically, however, mitigation systems designed for VI from industrial chemicals are more robust.

For more information on Vapor Intrusion and Mitigation, contact us for a confidential consultation.