Insurance Aspects of Industrial
Waste Disposal
RICHARD   Y.   LEVINE
Research Engineer, Industrial Division
Association of Casualty and Surety Companies
New York, N. Y.
An unobtrusive caption in a recent newspaper read "Poison Dumped
in River Shuts Down Water Plant." The article reported that an
outlet at an industrial plant had been accidentally opened to release
a poisonous waste to the Delaware River and that a nearby water
purification plant had shut down to prevent the entry of poisons into
the city water supply. The story was so unimportant to the news
service that no follow-up article appeared the next day.
But to a sanitary engineer there was drama behind every matter-of-
fact word of the item. A city without water: Without water to
drink, cook with, wash with, and without water to carry away wastes.
Illness and death lurked on the sidelines.
Industry without water: Without water for heat, for power, for
cooling, and for process. Deserted plants and damaged equipment
were in the offing.
Who would pay for the death and illness and the damage and the
lost business? Would the industry be responsible and would claims
bankrupt the firm—or would protective insurance be there to pick up
the bill? But does insurance always pick up the bill? Does insurance
cover all the situations which might arise from the disposal of industrial
wastes? And finally, what kinds of insurance are needed for the most
complete coverage? The answers are important to you as industrial
waste men although you may never buy a policy. It is important
because your company's liability and insurance coverage may depend
upon what you do with the wastes. An attempt will be made to give
you a very general picture of the various types of insurance and their
coverages in the field of industrial waste disposal.
For this purpose, imagine, if you will, the ABC Metal Plating
Company. It is a typical, medium-sized plating plant. It pickles with
sulfuric acid, bright dips with nitric and hydrochloric acids and plates
copper, cadmium and zinc from cyanide solution.
Typically, it carries fire insurance, boiler and machinery insurance,
workmen's  compensation   insurance,   products   liability  insurance   and
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