Environmental Homefront

Home hazards and the keys to keeping your home free from rado, lead, or asbestos

Environmental pollution can make a mockery of the sanctuary of one's home. To advise potential homeowners of the environmental hazards that may be present in your home's walls, plumbing, and foundations, a group of government agencies and private organizations, including the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the National Association of Realtors have joined forces to develop a primer for consumers. An adaptation follows:

Radon

Radon is a colorless, odorless, tasteless gas that occurs as a byproduct of the natural decay of uranium present in the Earth. It is present in varying quantities in the atmosphere and in soils around the world.

Why is radon harmful?

Radon gas breaks down the radioactive particles that remain in the air. Out of doors, radon is not a problem for human beings because the surrounding air allows the gas to diffuse in the atmosphere. But when radon gas and its decay products enter your home., they remain in circulation in the enclosed air. As you breathe these particles, they can become trapped in your lungs. As these particles continue to break down, they release bursts of energy (radiation) that can damage lung tissue. This damage can cause lung cancer.

How does radon enter a home?

Through small spaces and openings, such as cracks in concrete, floor drains, sump pump openings, wall/floor joints in basements, and the pores in hollow block walls. It also can seep into groundwater and remain entrapped there. There is greater potential for a radon problem if a home is supplied with water from a groundwater source (such as a well). The likelihood of radon in the water supply is greatly reduced for homes supplied with water from a municipal water supply.

How does one test for radon?

Preliminary screening test kits can be bought over the counter in many hardware, grocery and convinience stores. Test that measure the amount of radon in water normally require you to send a sample of tap water to a laboratory for analysis. State agencies should be consulted if the home water supply is a suspected source of radon.

When purchasing a radon detection kit, you should examine the package for indications that the kit has been approved by federal or state health, environmental protection, or consumer protection agencies. Short-term testing (ranging from a few days to several months) is one way to determine if a potential problem exists. Long-term testing (lasting for up to one year) is a more accurate way to determine if radon is present. Both short- and long-term testing devices are easy to use and relatively inexpensive.

Nigard street, New York. Photo by Elena.

What's an acceptable level of indoor radon?

The concentration of radon in air is measured in units of picocuries per liter of air (pCi/L). Estimates suggest that most homes contain from one to two picocuries of radon per liter of air. If preliminary tests indicate radon levels greater than 4 picocuries per liter of air in livable areas of the home. The Environmenal Portection Agency recommends that a follow-up test be conducted. No level of radon is considered safe; there are risks even at very low levels. To put this into perspective, the EPA estimates that the risk of an annual rado level of 4 picocuries is equivalent to the risk from smoking 10 cigarettes a day or having 200 chest X-rays a year. A picocurie level of 40 is equivalent to smoking two packs a day, while a level of 100 is equal to 2,000 chest X-rays a year.

What does it cost to reduce the level of radon in a home?

The costs will depend on the number of radon sources, the amount of radon in the surrounding land or in the water supply, and the kind of construction used in the home. Normally, installing radon reduction equipment costs from several hundred dollars to several thousand dollars. If the treatment involves fans, pumps, or other appliances, operating costs for these devices also may increase monthly utility bills.

Is radon a ”do-it-yourself project”?

Not usually. In some cases, homeowners should be able to treat the problem themselves; however, it is not always possible for homeowners to diagnose the source of radon or to install systems that will reduce the level. Radon source diagnosis and mitigation normally require skills and tools not available to the average homeowner. When seeking a contractor to assist with a radon problem, consult local, county, or state government agencies for a recommendation of qualified radon reduction contractors.

Lead

Lead is a metallic element found worldwide in rocks and soils. Its toxic effects have been known since ancient times. Recent research has shown that lead represents a greater hazard at lower levels of concentration than had been thought. Airborne lead enters the body when an individual breathes lead particles or swallows lead dust. Until recently, the most important source of airborne dust was automobile exhaust.

Why is lead harmful?

When ingested, lead accumulates in the blood, bones, and soft tissue of the body. High concentrations of lead in the body can cause death or permanent damage to the central nervous system, the brain, the kidneys, and red blood cells. Even low levels of lead may increase high blood pressure in adults. Infants, children, pregnant women, and fetuses are more vulnerable to lead exposure than others because the lead is more easily absorbed into growing bodies and their tissues are more sensitive to the damaging effects of the lead. Because of a child's smaller body weight, an equal concentration of lead is more damaging to a child than it would be an adult.

Where is lead found in the home?

Lead can be present in drinking water, in paint used to decorate the interior or exterior of a home, in the dust within a home, and in soil around the home.

Are there acceptable levels for lead in drinking water?

Existing regulations set the maximum contamination level and goal at 50 micrograms per liter per liter, but the EPA has proposed revising those standards to reflect new knowledge about the harmful effects of lead.

Can one tell by looking at the plumbing if water in a home will contain too much lead?

No. Visual inspection of pipe joints and solder lines is not an accurate means of determining whether or not decaying solder is a source of lead. The only way to determine lead levels is present in drinking water, or if they wish to have water tested, they should contact local, county, or state health or environmental departments for information about qualified testing laboratories.

How prevalent is lead-based paint?

According to the EPA, lead based paint was applied to approximately two-thirds of the houses built in the United States before 1940; one third of the houses built from 1940 to 1960; and to an indeterminate, but smaller portion of houses that have been built since 1960.

How is lead-based paint harmful?

The health hazards to children from eating lead-based paint chips have been known for some time, but other sources of exposure to lead in household air and dust have been documented only recently. Lead can enter the air within a home when surfaces covered with lead-based paint are scraped, sanded, or heated with an open flame in paint-stripping procedures. Lead particles freed in fine dust or vapors settles into carpet fibers and fabric and can be recirculated by normal household cleaning and through the normal hand-to-mouth behavior of children, which results in the ingestion of potentially harmful amounts of any lead present in household dust, Lead also can enter household air from outdoor sources such as contaminated soil and from activities that require the use of solder.

How does one eliminate lead-based paint?

It is best to leave lead-based paint undisturbed if it is in good condition and there is little possibility that it will be eaten by children. Other procedures include covering the paint with wallpaper or some other building material, or completely replacing the painted surface. Pregnant women and women who plant to become pregnant should not do this work. Professional paint removal is costly and requires everyone not involved in the procedure to leave the premises during removal and cleanup.

Aluminum. Photo by Elena.

Asbestos

Asbestos is a fibrous mineral found in rocks and soil throughout the world. It has been used in construction because it is strong, durable, fire retardant, and an efficient insulator. Alone or in combination with other materials, asbestos can be fashioned into a variety of products that have numerous applications within the building industry, for example, for flooring, ceiling tiles, shingles, insulation, or as a fire retardant for heating and electrical systems.

Why is asbestos dangerous?

Once ingested, asbestos fibers lodge in the lungs. Asbestos persists in tissue and concentrates as repeated exposures occur. It can cause cancer of the lung and stomach after prolonged work-related exposure to it. The health effects of lower exposures in the home are less certain; however, experts are unable to provide assurance that any level of exposure to asbestos fibers is completely safe.

When do asbestos-containing products in the home become a health risk?

Home health risks arise when age, accidental damage, or normal cleaning, construction, or remodeling activities cause the asbestos-containing materials to crumble, flake, or deteriorate. When this happens, minute asbestos fibers are released into the air and can be inhaled. The fibers can cling to clothing, tools, and exposed flesh; cleanup operations can then dislodge the fibers and free them to circulate in the air.

Where in the home is asbestos found?

According to the EPA, many homes comstructed in the United States during the past 20 years probably do not contain asbestos products. But asbestos is sometimes found around pipes and furnaces in older homes, in some vinyl flooring materials; in ceiling tiles; in exterior roofing shingles and siding; in some wallboards; mixed with other materials around pipes, ducts and beams; in patching compounds or textured paints; and in door gaskets on furnaces, and ovens.

How can one tell if a home contains asbestos?

A professional trained in working with asbestos knows how to take samples porperly and what corrective actions will be the most effective. EPA regional asbestos coordinators can provide information on qualified contractors and laboratories. The federal government recently has required the labeling of new products containing asbestos and a phased-in ban of most asbestos products by 1996.

What should one do if asbestos is found?

Generally, if the material is in good condition and is in an area where it is not likely to be disturbed, you can leave the asbestos-containing material in place. Extreme care should be excercised in handling, cleaning, or working with material suspected of containing asbestos. If the material is likely to be banged, handled, or taken apart (espcially during remodeling), homeowners should hire a trained contractor and reduce their exposure as much as possible.

Can you aggravate an asbestos problem by the things you do?

Common construction and remodeling operations can release varying amounts of asbestos fibers if the material being worked on contains asbestos. These operations include hammering, drilling, sawing, sanding, cutting, and otherwise shaping or molding the material. Routine cleaning operations (such as brushing, dusting, vacuum cleaning, scraping, and scrubbing) can also release hazardous fibers from asbestos-containing materials. Vinyl flooring products that contain asbestos can be cleaned in a conventional manner, but these products can release some asbestos fibers if they are vigourously sanded, ground, drilled, filed, or scraped. When properly installed on the exterior of a home, asbestos-containing products present little risk to human health. However, if siding is worn or damaged, spray painting it will help seal in the fibers.

How difficult is asbestos removal?

It depends on the amount of the product present, the percentage of asbestos it contains, and the manner in which asbestos is incorporated into the product. Total removal of even small amounts of asbestos-containing material is usually the last alternative. Homeowners should contact local state, or federal health or consumer product agencies before deciding on a course of action. To ensure safety and elimination of health hazards, asbestos repair or removal should be performed only by properly trained contractors.

Many home repair or remodeling contractors do not yet have the requisite training, experience, or equipment to work safely with asbestos. Furthermore, asbestos removal workers are protected under federal regulations that specify special training, protective clothing, and special respirators for these workers.