Environmental Health Home Assessment

The Home Environmental Health and Safety Assessment was eye opening. I recently moved to a home that was built in the 1920's. There were many things on the assessment list I had not thought about as potential environmental exposures. Because the home was built prior to 1978, there is a higher chance that lead and asbestos were used in the construction of the home. Our landlord did not disclose if she ever had the building tested for either, so I currently have no way of knowing. Additionally, because the home has not been updated recently, we have an old, gas, un-vented heater that will release pollutants into the house if we turned it on. Those were the main concerns I had for exposures in our home as I completed the assessment. Prior to this assessment I had some knowledge about toxins in pesticides, household cleaners, air freshers, etc and so I am particular about what products I buy and use in my home. Additionally, we have an air purifier that we can move from room to room depending on where we are spending the most time. 
While there is no basement in our home, this is important question in the home assessment because of naturally occurring radon in the ground. Because basements are built into the ground, there are usually higher levels of radon in basements. 
Because we rent, I would assume that our landlord is responsible for home-based environmental health risks, but I am honestly not certain. 
See my home assessment below:

Comments

  1. Terrianne GAugust 27, 2018 at 12:54 PM

    Hey Ayla! You brought up a good point to your discussion; for those who rent, are the landlords responsible for making sure their house /space is in compliance to safety and environmental health. Especially in the Bay Area where home owners are renting out just about every piece of living space (from their basements, to their attics and even backyard outhouses! ) I'm not too sure if there are policies regulating their health safety. I am aware that homes who are under reconstruction should be in compliance on certain standards, but a lot of companies "cut corners" when it comes to making sure their materials are of health quality satisfaction and more. At least you have purified air! Thank you for sharing!

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    Replies
    1. UnknownSeptember 3, 2018 at 4:57 PM

      Hi Ayla,
      Wow, that is great that you know how old your home is. I have been in the house I live in since I was 3, and still do not know the exact answer to this questions.
      What city do you live in? And what types of updates would you be considering in the near future. This assessment also opened my eyes, and its amazing how much we all didn't know prior to this exercise.

      I agree with you as well that your land lord should be knowledgable about all the home health risks. Do you think you will share this assessment with him/her? You may teach this person a thing or two.

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    2. Ayla EvinsSeptember 3, 2018 at 10:04 PM

      Hi Jenay -
      Yeah it's a great place in Berkeley - we only really know the age because the history of the building is pretty interesting. Apparently it was originally a grocery store, was then converted into a church and then in the 70's or 80's into a living space. Since we rent, we really cannot make any updates ourselves, but I definitely want to ask our landlord more about any tests for lead or any other potential health risks.

      Delete

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