SOCOTEC delivers rapid sample testing analysis for high-value property insurance claim

Challenge

ASP Environmental Limited was brought in by a client to investigate oil contamination at a prestigious £12 million residential property. There were multiple obstacles present at the property, namely a dark, heavy oil found in drainage systems and around a car pond, despite no obvious contamination source being found at the property.

Vapours and odours were detected inside the house, which raised immediate health concerns, and insurance coverage determination depended on identifying the contamination source and type within an extremely tight timeframe of just 48 hours to determine if evacuation was necessary and to enable insurance coverage decisions.

To be able to achieve this, ASP, an environmental response consultancy specialising in fire, flood and environmental contamination assessment and mitigation, needed a rapid turnaround when it came to the testing.

Solution

Fortunately, ASP had a multi-year relationship with our technical team at SOCOTEC UK & Ireland, spanning seven years. As a result of this collaborative partnership, SOCOTEC already had a deep understanding of ASP's requirements, which enabled immediate project mobilisation, helping ASP to hit its client’s targets.

The relationship held particularly with SOCOTEC’s Technical Associate Amy Parekh-Pross, allowed for the fast-tracking for ASP to receive rapid analysis of the oil contamination found at the property.

Samples were delivered and tested at SOCOTEC’s Bretby laboratories, with experienced technicians on hand to provide comprehensive results within the critical 48-hour window.

The bespoke method used to identify specific contamination compounds, ensured that within the samples provided, contamination-related vapours could be distinguished and identified. This was particularly important as contaminated samples were tested alongside others from a dedicated basement ‘golf room’ housing a private collection of more than 100 golf shirts, items of significant personal and potential financial importance to the homeowner, where clarity over the source of internal measured VOC vapours and clarity over additional exposure routes and risk mattered.

The swift findings confirmed the contamination source and type, which was necessary for the insurance determination, and identified that basement vapour readings were unrelated to the main contamination incident.

This enabled a risk assessment, which allowed the homeowner to remain in the property during the response remediation timeline, extending over 12 months.

Conclusion

This particular case exemplifies SOCOTEC's commitment to providing rapid, accurate analytical services that enable clients to make critical decisions under pressure, and, indeed in ASP’s case, helped to make a massive difference in the project.

SOCOTEC continues to provide analytical services for this multi-year remediation project, which has only reinforced its strategic relationship with ASP for future projects. Indeed, SOCOTEC’s work on this project has demonstrated its capability for complex, time-sensitive analysis and results.

The ongoing nature of this project, which has spanned multiple years, demonstrates the long-term trust and reliability that define SOCOTEC's client relationships in the environmental consulting sector.