environmental Strategist™, between the lines: The majority of the time when you ask a business how they purchase their raw materials they will tell you they buy them FOB (Freight On board) point of shipment. Why, because it’s cheaper. The story below is a simple example of the dangers a business can experience buying their raw materials FOB point of shipment.
Before you say it, let me, “This is a loss that could never Happen.” Environmental liabilities for businesses generally are not a frequency problem but a severity problem.
Gasoline gets into southeast Kentucky cave system – February 3, 2014
Kentucky Department of Environmental Protection crews are working with cavers after a fuel spill late last week.
Early on the morning of January 30th 2014, a gasoline tanker truck left the pavement of US Highway 27 and rolled down an embankment just south of Burnside in southern Pulaski County.
Due to a considerable delay between the time of the accident and when it was finally reported, most if not all 8,200 gallons of gasoline had already leaked out of the tanker by the time emergency personnel arrived on the scene.
The fuel had flowed overland to a gully and several hundred feet over frozen ground to a swallow hole, believed to be connected to the Sloan’s Valley Cave system.
Efforts to clean up the fuel remaining on the surface are underway, but the majority is thought to now be in the cave and groundwater.
Although six cave entrances were checked and no fumes were detected, dangerous conditions inside the cave could exist inside. Several sumps exist along the base level stream passage and the gasoline is expected to be trapped on top of the water for a significant period of time.
Fuel vapors may make self-contained breathing apparatus a necessity to enter the cave and there is also the potential for an explosion.
Signs have been posted at the entrances warning of the potential hazardous conditions.
In the future, before caving in Sloan’s or Neely’s Creek please obtain the latest information from the Kentucky Division of Water.
[via Jared Snyder] & Gasoline gets into southeast Kentucky cave system [courier-journal.com]
eS Risk Management Strategy: environmental Strategist™ (eS) understand that sustainability is just another word for environmental risk management. Through environmental risk management, eS offer four simple risk management strategies a business can implement to reduce their environmental liability exposures in receiving their raw materials.
1. Stop buying your raw materials FOB point of shipment, purchase them FOB point of delivery.
2. Working with your attorney team member, have then draw up a contract that transfers the transportation liability to the transporter until your raw materials are delivered and off loaded.
3. Only deal with transporters that carry transportation pollution liability coverage.
4. Businesses can purchase an insurance policy that protects them while third parties are transporting their goods.
Business owner, what would you like to do?
Through environmental risk management eS offer businesses options on managing and transferring their environmental exposures to increase profits in today’s business environment. For more go to www.estrategist.com.