Dealing with Environmental Hazards
If your home were contaminated with an environmental hazard, would you know? Finding out is not easy. Specific information about individual properties is scarce. There is disagreement over the extent of the danger of some chemicals, and the information on the internet is from mitigation contractors or some other biased source.
That aside, here are six government-operated and nonprofit Web sites that can help you learn more about healthy homes and home environmental hazards.
1. The United States Environmental Protection Agency
The EPS has a website that is full of information about energy efficient homes. There is also information about radon, household waste management, recycling, lead contamination, drinking water, and much, much more. There is also a FAQ section about the property rights of people who own homes near a superfund clean up site.
2. Health House
The Health House website was developed by the American Lung Association of Minnesota to raise the standards of indoor air quality and energy efficiency in new homes. There are features on home pollutants, along with tips on building a healthy house.
3. National Safety Council
The National Safety Council educates the public on a variety of safety issues for the home, as well as the workplace and community. The website has information about indoor quality, lead poisoning, and hazardous chemicals. You can also buy a test kit for radon.
4. United States Department of Housing and Urban Development
- http://www.hud.org
This website is full of consumer information regarding housing and buying homes.
5. The American Homeowners Association
This site has resources for general homeowner information on a variety of different subjects. They focus on do-it-yourself tips and ideas.
6. Environmental Guidebook
- http://www.traverse.com/envguide/cover.html
This is particularly helpful for people in the area of Traverse, Michigan, but the Prevention and Discovery chapter is very broadly applicable.
About the Author
John Good is the licensed ex-real estate brocker, the author of numerous FSBO articles and the co-editor of the For sale by owner web-site.
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