With concerns about enforcement of corporate environmental liability disclosure heightening, Dun & Bradstreet Information Services has introduced a new line of products to help users screen for potential environmental risk associated with more than one million commercial and industrial properties in the United States.
The products, known collectively as Environmental Information Services, are designed to help perform environmental due diligence. The prescreening is normally used in the early stages of a potential loan to pinpoint elevated risks, including those which would require further investigation with a more costly on-site technical evaluation. The reports also provide an estimated cost for the physical cleanup of the site based upon experience at sites with similar environmental problems. One of the reports lists federal and state environmental filings located by Dun & Bradstreet on and surrounding a target property. Another report can help businesses analyze the information, translating the search into a three-level risk code. It could provide an example of the clean-up costs for other sites with similar filings.
The company's Toxicheck software interprets various sources of environmental information, including government records, questionnaire responses, and visits to specific properties. The software accesses the information using a PC and modem. The information used is provided by Environmental Data Resources, Southport, Conn., which maintains a data base of government records from more than 300 different sources. The products were developed to meet environmental due diligence standards, such as the ASTM Transaction Screen Standard, and support the FDIC's directive that lending institutions put in appropriate safeguards and controls to limit exposure to potential environmental liability. Dun & Bradstreet Information Services North America is an affiliate of The Dun & Bradstreet Corp.
