A GREAT variety of businesses face environmental exposures. Some are obvious; some are not. Agents and brokers can distinguish themselves from their competitors and prove their professionalism to their clients by identifying these exposures and presenting solutions.

One example of an account with an obvious environmental exposure would be a gasoline station or a convenience store with fuel tanks. Most certainly, potential leaking from the underground storage tanks is an exposure. Depending on the age and condition of the tanks, this risk is easily addressed with readily available underground storage tank liability insurance. However, depending on the services provided at the facility, other environmental hazards also may need to be considered. For example, reservoirs of hydraulic fluid used to operate lifts, containers of used motor oil, used car batteries, parts washers and the many over-the-counter products held for sale that contain potential environmental contaminates all present risk. These additional exposures may be better covered by the more comprehensive environmental impairment liability form.

A dry-cleaning establishment is another business with an obvious environmental exposure. You should know whether your insured operates a "drop-off" facility or performs the cleaning process on premises. If the latter, the facility most likely will use perchloroethylene, or PERC. Synonyms for this chemical include tetrachloroethylene, ethylene tetrachloride and perchlor. PERC is a colorless, liquid solvent that is nonflammable and mostly insoluble in water. The largest use of the chemical is in the dry cleaning industry. However, it can also be found at textile mills, chemical plants, degreasing operations (such as heavy equipment repair facilities), electroplating facilities, pulp and paper manufacturing plants (where it is used for de-inking paper), ink manufacturing facilities, metal cleaning operations, rubber manufacturing and rubber coating operations.