M1.5 Blog: Environmental Home Health Assessment


In the home assessment, why did we want to know about the age of your home?

·     For a few reasons I suspect. Depending on the year of the home it will determine the type of material used when building the home. Materials used back in a certain date and time period may have been deemed safe then but with more sophisticated testing and years of data on people and health to date, it may now be unsafe. Specific examples would include lead paint, asbestos, ceiling and insulation material. Another reason to know the age of the house is that it could not have proper radon mitigation should radon levels be really high or built over an area approved in the past but is unsafe now. Or perhaps the house was approved to be built on polluted soil many years ago and is now unhealthy per new housing codes.

Why would we want to know if someone lives in the basement? 

·     As a reason stated above, radon levels in the past may not be what they are today. Exposure to higher radon levels occurs in the basement compared to someone that lived on the third floor. I would also say that mold would be another major issue, standing water, and exposure to pests. Finally, in a earthquake or flood it is important to know who lives in the basement.

Who is responsible for home-based environmental health risks?

·     If just purchasing the house, then hired help in a pre-inspection walk through before purchase can occur. If you already own a home, then it is the owners responsibility to ensure a safe environment. If you rent an apartment or house, then it falls on the tenant for the environment inside the house. The owner meets state and city mandates on required health codes like radon, handicap access, polluted soil and the like.

·     After completing the home environmental health and safety assessment tool I am now noticing all the types of herbicides and pesticides that may be on my grocery store produce sitting in my refrigerator.


Please click here for my Home Health Assessment pdf


Comments

  1. Sandy TanSeptember 1, 2018 at 2:51 PM

    Hi Dan,
    I find it a very scary thought that the refrigerator is where the most toxic chemicals are present because of the produce and meat that we store in there. To add to who is responsible for home-based environmental health risks, I think the government should also be responsible in informing and alerting the public about potential home-based environmental health risks. Health literacy impacts how people receive health information, and so for minorities with limited English proficiency and low health literacy may not be informed about potential home-based environmental health risks.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hugo FGSeptember 5, 2018 at 11:29 AM

    I found it interesting how many chemicals are being banned years after we've been using them. You mentioned the lead in the paint, asbestos, or insulation material that were very common for years for construction purposes. This makes me think how many of today's materials and products need to be banned, but we just haven't found the reason to.

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