Table of contents
- What is hazardous waste exposure?
- Common sources of hazardous waste contamination
- Residential versus occupational exposure
- Historical contamination discovered years later
- Groundwater and soil contamination
- Who may be responsible for hazardous waste exposure?
- Health concerns associated with hazardous waste
- Impact on property values
- Evidence that may strengthen a hazardous waste claim
- Compensation available in hazardous waste cases
- Why prompt investigation matters
- How McNicholas & McNicholas can help
- Frequently asked questions about hazardous waste exposure
- Speak with a California hazardous waste exposure lawyer
What is hazardous waste exposure?
Hazardous waste exposure occurs when people come into contact with hazardous waste or contaminants released from such waste, including through improper storage, transportation, handling, disposal or releases into the environment.
Exposure may occur through:
- Contaminated groundwater
- Polluted drinking water
- Contaminated soil
- Indoor vapor intrusion
- Dust containing hazardous substances
- Direct contact with contaminated materials
- Airborne contaminants
- Polluted surface water
Hazardous waste is not always visible. Chemicals may migrate underground, spread through groundwater or accumulate in soil over long periods. Some contaminants have little or no odor, making them difficult to detect without environmental testing.
Common sources of hazardous waste contamination
Hazardous waste contamination may originate from a single disposal event or years of improper handling and repeated releases.
Illegal dumping
Businesses and individuals sometimes dispose of hazardous materials in unauthorized locations to avoid costs or regulatory requirements.
Waste may be dumped in vacant lots, drainage areas, abandoned properties or remote locations. Over time, chemicals may spread into nearby soil and groundwater, extending the damage beyond the original dumping site.
Industrial facilities
Manufacturing plants, refineries, chemical processing facilities and other industrial operations routinely handle hazardous substances.
Leaking equipment, improper storage, accidental releases and inadequate disposal practices may allow contaminants to escape. Even facilities that closed years ago may continue to affect surrounding communities when contamination was never properly identified or remediated.
Landfills
Modern landfills use systems designed to reduce the risk of environmental contamination. Older landfills may lack current safeguards, however, and hazardous materials may have been accepted before stricter regulations took effect.
Damaged liners, deteriorating containment systems or improper operations may allow contaminants to move into nearby soil or groundwater. An investigation may examine how the landfill was designed, what waste it accepted and whether it was properly operated and maintained.
Not every landfill-related problem results from negligence. Determining responsibility requires an investigation of the facility’s design, waste-acceptance practices, operating history and maintenance.
Underground storage tanks
Underground tanks have historically stored fuel, chemicals and other hazardous materials.
As these systems age, corrosion, damaged piping and equipment failures may allow substances to leak underground without immediate detection. The contamination may spread beyond the property before testing reveals the source.
Former industrial sites
Communities frequently redevelop property once occupied by factories, dry cleaners, repair shops and manufacturing plants.
Contamination may remain beneath the land after the buildings are demolished. Construction and redevelopment sometimes uncover buried drums, tanks or contaminated soil that had remained hidden for decades.
Residential versus occupational exposure
Some people encounter hazardous substances where they live. Others are exposed through their employment. Understanding how exposure occurred is an important part of evaluating the available legal claims.
Residential exposure
Residential exposure occurs when hazardous substances affect homes or neighborhoods.
Examples include:
- Drinking contaminated groundwater
- Living near an illegal dumping site
- Vapor intrusion inside a home
- Contact with contaminated soil in yards or parks
- Living near a leaking landfill
- Exposure from a nearby industrial site
These conditions may affect homeowners, renters, apartment residents and entire communities. Children may face different risks because they often play outdoors and have more frequent contact with soil and dust.
Residential exposure may continue for months or years before environmental testing identifies the contamination.
Occupational exposure
Workers involved in manufacturing, construction, waste handling, transportation or industrial operations may encounter hazardous substances as part of their jobs.
Some workplace exposures may fall within the workers’ compensation system. Other incidents involve contamination that extends beyond the workplace and affects nearby residents, neighboring businesses or workers employed by other companies.
A worker may also carry hazardous substances home on clothing, footwear or equipment, potentially exposing family members.
Because these situations vary, determining the appropriate legal path requires a careful review of how the exposure occurred and which parties may be responsible.
Historical contamination discovered years later
One of the most challenging aspects of hazardous waste cases is that contamination may be discovered long after it began.
A community may rely on groundwater for decades before testing detects hazardous chemicals. Homeowners may purchase property without knowing that a nearby industrial facility once used or disposed of dangerous substances. Construction projects may uncover buried waste that predates the current property owner by many years.
Government agencies sometimes identify contamination through routine monitoring. In other cases, unusual odors, changing groundwater conditions, health concerns or redevelopment projects lead to further investigation.
The passage of time can make identifying responsible parties more difficult. Records may be incomplete. Businesses may have changed names, reorganized or ceased operating. Property boundaries may have changed, and several companies may have occupied the same site.
Environmental engineers, geologists and hydrologists may help trace contamination to its source. Historical aerial photographs, property records, disposal manifests, regulatory files and former employee testimony may also provide important evidence.
Discovering contamination years later does not automatically prevent a legal claim. The available options depend on when the harm was discovered, who may be responsible and the applicable law.
Groundwater and soil contamination
Hazardous substances released into the environment may seep through soil, enter groundwater and migrate beyond the property where the contamination began.
Groundwater contamination may affect drinking wells, irrigation systems and other water sources used by homes, businesses and agricultural operations. Soil contamination may limit how land can be used, complicate development and require costly remediation.
The movement of contaminants depends on the chemical involved, soil composition, local geology, groundwater flow and weather conditions. Contamination may therefore reach properties located far from the original source.
Environmental testing and scientific analysis are often needed to determine what contaminants are present, how long they have been there and which properties may be affected.
Who may be responsible for hazardous waste exposure?
Identifying responsible parties may be difficult when contamination occurred years or decades earlier.
Potential defendants may include:
- Industrial facilities
- Chemical manufacturers
- Waste generators
- Disposal companies
- Landfill operators
- Current and former property owners
- Developers
- Contractors
- Transportation companies
- Engineering firms
- Equipment manufacturers
- Public entities, where permitted by law
Responsibility depends on each party’s role in creating, transporting, managing or allowing the hazardous condition to continue.
For example, one company may have generated the waste, another may have transported it and a third may have operated the disposal site. Property owners or operators may also have failed to investigate or remediate known contamination.
Attorneys may review environmental reports, property records, aerial photographs, inspection documents, disposal manifests and government investigations. Several parties may ultimately share responsibility.
Health concerns associated with hazardous waste
The potential health effects depend on the substance, concentration, duration and route of exposure. Age, health history and other individual factors may also influence how a person responds.
Possible symptoms and conditions may include:
- Skin or eye irritation
- Breathing problems
- Headaches or dizziness
- Nausea
- Neurological symptoms
- Organ damage
- Reproductive or developmental effects
- Certain cancers
An exposure alone does not prove that a later condition was caused by hazardous waste. Medical records, exposure history, environmental testing and expert analysis may be required to evaluate causation.
People who believe they were exposed should seek appropriate medical care and tell the provider when, where and how the suspected exposure occurred.
Impact on property values
Hazardous waste contamination may affect property long after the immediate environmental problem is addressed.
Homes near contaminated groundwater, former industrial sites or dumping locations may become harder to sell. Buyers and lenders may have concerns about future cleanup obligations, health risks and land-use restrictions.
Commercial property owners may experience delayed development, interrupted operations or limits on how the property can be used.
Some properties require physical cleanup. Others may lose value because of their proximity to a contaminated site or the public perception surrounding the area.
Environmental consultants, real estate professionals and appraisal experts may help evaluate whether contamination reduced a property’s market value.
Evidence that may strengthen a hazardous waste claim
Hazardous waste cases often depend on extensive scientific and historical evidence.
Helpful evidence may include:
- Soil and groundwater testing
- Environmental site assessments
- Water quality reports
- Government investigations
- Historical aerial photographs
- Property ownership records
- Landfill operating records
- Disposal manifests
- Inspection and maintenance records
- Corporate documents
- Medical records
- Photographs and videos
- Witness statements
- Cleanup estimates and property appraisals
Environmental engineers, geologists, hydrologists, toxicologists, industrial hygienists and physicians may help identify the source, explain how contamination spread and assess its relationship to injuries or property damage.
Compensation available in hazardous waste cases
The compensation available depends on the nature of the contamination, the losses suffered and the legal claims involved.
Potential personal injury damages may include medical expenses, future treatment, lost income, reduced earning capacity, pain and suffering and wrongful death damages.
Property and economic losses may include:
- Environmental testing
- Cleanup and remediation
- Property repairs
- Loss of use
- Temporary housing or relocation
- Reduced property value
- Business interruption
- Lost profits
Medical monitoring may also be relevant in certain cases, depending on the facts and applicable law.
Why prompt investigation matters
Although contamination may remain hidden for years, prompt action is important once it is discovered.
Environmental conditions may continue to change. Additional contamination may spread, records may be lost, and witnesses may become harder to locate.
Property owners should preserve environmental reports, testing results, government correspondence, cleanup estimates and documents showing property damage or reduced value.
People concerned about exposure should seek medical evaluation and preserve records documenting symptoms and treatment.
A timely legal investigation may help identify responsible parties and preserve evidence before further changes occur.
How McNicholas & McNicholas can help
Hazardous waste cases require scientific analysis and a careful review of historical records. Determining when contamination began and who caused it may involve decades of property ownership, industrial operations and regulatory activity.
McNicholas & McNicholas has experience developing the scientific and technical evidence these cases require. In contamination and toxic-tort matters, the firm has used air-quality reports, water and soil analysis, medical evidence and expert testimony to investigate exposure, establish resulting harm and document losses such as diminished property value. The firm’s attorneys have also tried more than 300 cases to verdict and have experience handling large-scale claims involving hundreds or thousands of affected people.
We work with appropriate environmental, engineering and medical experts to investigate contamination and document each client’s injuries and losses. Our firm addresses each client’s individual exposure, property damage, and financial losses, and pursues compensation on behalf of our clients.
Frequently asked questions about hazardous waste exposure
What qualifies as hazardous waste exposure?
It generally involves contact with hazardous waste or contaminants released from such waste, including through improper storage, transportation, handling or disposal. Exposure may occur through water, soil, air, dust or vapor intrusion.
Can contamination discovered years later support a claim?
Possibly. Many hazardous waste cases involve pollution that remained hidden for years. Whether a claim exists depends on when the harm was discovered, the losses suffered and the applicable law.
How do investigators identify the source?
Investigators may use soil sampling, groundwater studies, aerial photographs, property records, regulatory files and expert analysis to determine how contamination moved and where it originated.
Can hazardous waste reduce property value?
Yes. Contamination may make property more difficult to sell, delay development or require expensive cleanup. Appraisal and environmental experts may help determine the economic impact.
Is every workplace exposure a workers’ compensation case?
No. Some incidents may involve workers’ compensation, while others affect residents, neighboring businesses or people employed by other companies. Certain cases may involve more than one legal claim.
How long do I have to file a claim?
There is no single deadline. The applicable time limit depends on the facts, when the contamination or injury was discovered and whether a public entity is involved. Prompt legal advice is important.
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