This webinar is the second in a two-part webinar series featuring Eric Leitz, Director of Legacy Site Services at RPS Group. His presentation discussed risk and managing liabilities, taking a look at vapor intrusion. He was joined by Ryan Miller, East Region Manager at Land Science.
Part 2: Risk and Liability – Vapor Intrusion Mitigation and Managing Liabilities
- Similar to PFAS as an “emerging contaminant,” VI was an “emerging pathway” in the early to mid-2000s
- What have we learned since: a patchwork of state regulations
- For transactions and industry, the driver is exposure risk rather than liability and specific regulations
- VI risk evaluation is still evolving (TCE, maybe PFAS?)
- Immediate investigation/mitigation can facilitate operations or transactions, but mitigation must also endure 5-10+ years to provide long-term viability
When suspected or known VI risk is identified at a site, liability can be managed through well-established assessment and mitigation options. However, transactional work often necessitates an accelerated plan for liability management, where a pragmatic approach is needed to quickly analyze VI liabilities and quantify potential risks and consequences. VI risk to the exposed population (e.g., facility personnel and/or the public) is typically the main driver. Given these factors, VI liability estimates can be generated to not only guide the transaction process, but also manage the liability post-close and into the future.
