Tests Show If Your Home Is Fit to Live in
If you are concerned that a house you live in or are considering buying may be polluted, your best bet is probably to call in an expert. An on-site inspection of your home, with some standard testing, costs about $250. If problems are located and more extensive laboratory tests are done, the cost can reach $500 or more.
An expert will be able to spot problems you probably would not. But if you’re just curious about whether your home has indoor pollution problems, here is a compilation of advice from several experts on how to do your own environmental assessment:
* Look for water damage, which is a telling sign that there may be mold spores in the house. About 30% of the general population is allergic to mold and mildew, which can cause headaches, sneezing and wheezing, skin rashes, eye and nose irritation and nausea.
David Bierman, a Berkeley-based environmental toxicologist, goes into the crawl space and checks for dampness and looks at hardwood floors and ventilation grills for dust and mold. Rugs, especially wall-to-wall carpet, are notorious for hiding mildew, dust and mold. Bierman turns over the edges of carpet and rugs to check for mildew and advises new home buyers to opt for bare wood floors if at all possible.
* Next, he tests for radon contamination, which is a more common hazard on the East Coast than it is in Southern California. Home test kits that check for radon gas are available commercially and a kit that tests for radon, lead contamination, microwave-oven radiation, carbon monoxide and ultraviolet rays is being marketed under the name “Safer Home Test Kit.” It is selling for $49 to $59 at selected drug and specialty stores and through the Hammacher Schlemmer catalogue.
* Asbestos is the next culprit to look for. A highly carcinogenic building material, it was used extensively in Southern California housing stock built between the 1940s and 1970s, especially in tile floors, roofing, heating and duct work, insulation, acoustic ceilings and in some decorative plaster work. The material is fire retardant and provides good insulation, but unfortunately it is also deadly if its needle-like fibers begin to deteriorate, flake and get into the air you breathe.
Kelly does not advocate removing every scrap of asbestos from an older home, but says homeowners should be aware of its existance so they can seal it over and leave it untouched rather than disturbing it during remodeling and stirring up possible health hazards.
* Lead paint is another potential hazard, especially to small children and pregnant women. Chipping, flaking, peeling paint that is inhaled or ingested can cause brain damage, stunted growth, hearing loss and lowered intelligence levels. At very high levels, lead poisoning can be fatal.
Although lead levels in paint were reduced in 1976, leaded paint use was extremely widespread before that and it is best to assume that chipping paint on an older home contains lead. It should be removed carefully (do not sand it into fine fibers or let chips fly into carpeting or soil) and covered over with fresh paint or wallpaper.
* Check to see whether the house has been fumigated with pesticides. A highly toxic termite-killer called chlordane was used frequently for 20 years, until its manufacture was discontinued in 1987. Levels of chlordane can remain in a house for years, sometimes getting more toxic over time.
“People get really sick and it’s frightening because they don’t know what’s making them sick. I wouldn’t buy a house that had been sprayed with chlordane,” Linda Mason Hunter, an architecture and home writer, said.
* Formaldehyde, whether in paint or coming from new pressed-wood furniture or new carpeting can be dangerous and irritating to some people. The “new carpet smell” is a sign that chemicals that may be irritating are being released.
Other products that may be releasing organic chemicals into your home are vinyl linoleum, bedding, mattresses, floor sealers, cleaning compounds, mothballs, cosmetics and room deodorizers. The effects of these products are especially noticeable when they are new, and the hazards reduce with the age of the product.
Allen White’s home includes a special air filtration system that works through the existing heat system, reducing dust and the other air particles that exacerbated his asthma. He also made sure that his bathroom floors were covered with tile, rather than carpeting, and has a built-in vacuum system that exhausts to the outdoors rather than stirring up small particles through a vacuum cleaner bag and back into the house.
He recommends that homeowners interested in cleaning up their environment or buying a new house make sure:
* The bathrooms are well vented so dampness doesn’t build up and cause the growth of mold and bacteria.
* Gas stoves are well-vented with a fan and a vent leading to the outside of the house.
* The garage is either separate from the house or well-ventilated. You’re better off if the car fumes, stored gasoline and chemicals typically found in a garage are not adjacent to your home.
* The house is not located near an environmentally hazardous site. Bierman said he has tested homes for people who complain about pollution-related health problems and do not realize they live around the corner from a waste dump or near a gasoline station that has underground gasoline tanks.
People who want to learn more about indoor pollution can subscribe to a monthly newsletter published in Connecticut called the “Safe Home Digest.” A recent issue discusses carpeting, healthy bedding and how to evaluate home testing laboratories and provides resources for people interested in making their homes healthier places. The newsletter is available for $27.96 by writing: Safe Home Digest, 24 East Ave., Suite 1300, New Canaan, Conn. 06840.
