Property Assessment
Risk Assessment for Property Transactions
Property owners and developers are becoming more aware of environmental issues, which has led to an increased demand for "no risk" and "no further action" documentation in real state transactions. ETSI professionals have used risk assessments to:
Obtain "no further action" letters from regulatory agencies
Set acceptable cleanup levels for contaminated property
Demonstrate that remediated properties do not represent a health risk to occupants and neighbors.
Risk assessments prepared by ETSI professionals have been instrumental in reducing the stigma associated with real or perceived contamination. For example, industrial facilities and properties with a history of hazardous materials use and storage are often severely undervalued because of imprecise or incomplete contaminant characterization. The "cost to cure" for such properties may exceed their market value. ETSI professionals have used risk assessments as a vehicle to present the facts in cases where the actual or perceived presence of environmental contaminants has stigmatized a property. The risk assessments are designed to present all the relevant site-specific, technical, and scientific facts associated with the contaminants to counteract negative emotions associated with the real or perceived presence of contaminants at a site.
ETSI can review pertinent data and conduct very simple or complex assessments to determine a site’s potential risks. We can also review site-relevant data to detect potential data gaps existing in a site’s due diligence documentation. An expert and realistic evaluation of a site’s potential environmental risks helps buyers and sellers negotiate agreements that comprise the full scope of the environmental impact on the property.
Our Goals
We aim to:
Safeguard human health and the environment
Identify and quantify hazards from potentially toxic chemicals
Facilitate complete and economical compliance with appropriate regulations
Help minimize liabilities associated with hazardous materials and real state transactions
Provide accurate information to respond to community and regulatory concerns.
ETSI professionals routinely employ risk assessment as an integral component of difficult closure projects and as cost-effective alternatives to conventional "dig-and-haul" approaches. This has allowed many of ETSI's clients to reach clean closure in situations where other consultants failed. Not only has this saved ETSI clients money in the short term, it has also reduced the long-term liability they might otherwise have faced.
Liability Assessment
ETSI professionals use risk assessment methodologies to assess the potential environmental liabilities that buyers and sellers of real estate assume as part of a property transaction. ETSI has considerable experience conducting human and ecological risk assessments, indoor air quality assessments and dose reconstruction studies. ETSI professionals have conducted these studies in support of real state transactions. The studies have been conducted in either a screening or detailed assessment format. In addition, ETSI professionals use risk assessment methodology to:
Assess possible environmental impacts and health hazards that may result from the manufacture, storage, use, or disposal of chemical substances at a property, and
To determine the long-term liability associated with current conditions at the property.
If a potential hazard exists, ETSI can recommend risk management measures to mitigate the hazards or limit liability for the parties involved.