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Environmental Hazards
Our job as your professional home inspector is to alert you, to the extent
possible, to unknown problems and potential environmental hazards in your current or potential house. Ours is a non-invasive
visual inspection of your property. While we may be able to alert you to possible problems, our basic inspections are no substitutes
for specialized contaminant testing.
RADON
Radon is a radioactive gaseous element produced
in the disintegration of radium, a radioactive metallic element. It cannot be detected by the senses and can be confirmed
only by sophisticated instruments and laboratory tests. The gas enters a house through pores and cracks in the concrete or
through floorboards of poorly ventilated crawlspaces, especially when wet ground allows the gas to escape easily through the
soil and disperse in the atmosphere. Radon is a lung carcinogen: the National Academy of Sciences estimates radon causes some
15,000 to 22,000 lung cancer deaths annually. The U.S. Surgeon General and the EPA recommend all houses be tested for radon.
Houses with high radon levels can be fixed.
Excerpts from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, “Indoor
Radon”.
WOOD-DESTROYING ORGANISMS/INSECTS
Termites, which play a positive role in recycling wood and plant material, become a problem when they consume structural
lumber. Every year thousands of U.S. housing units require termite treatment. These pests cause serious damage to wooden structures
and posts and can also attack stored food, household furniture, and books. Successful termite management requires special
skills, including a working knowledge of building construction and an understanding of termite biology and identification.
In most cases, it is advisable to hire a professional pest control company for the inspection and control problem.
Wood-boring beetle larvae feed on wood and wood products. Adults of some species bore holes into plaster,
plastic, and soft metals. Many species cause problems when emerging from wood in newly constructed buildings because they
leave small circular or oval exit holes in the wood. To avoid these problems, infested wood must be kiln-fried before being
used for lumber. The species Deathwatch Beetles is primarily found in soft woods (girder, beams, foundation timbers, some
types of furniture, with some species attacking books). False Powderpost female beetles bore a tunnel, or egg gallery, into
wood or other materials, then deposit eggs in pores or cracks within the tunnel. Adults of some species bore through such
soft metal as lead and silver, as well as plaster and other non-wood materials. Affected structural wood should be removed
and replaced whenever possible.
Wood Wasps and Horntails. Wood wasp damage in buildings is likely
to be more cosmetic than structurally weakening. Emerging wood wasps can chew through any substance: wallboard or plaster
walls, hardwood floors, carpeting, linoleum, non-ceramic floor tiles, and other interior surfaces.
Carpenter
Ants. Several species can damage wood in building and other structures. Though ants don’t eat wood, they bore
into it to make their nests, sometimes causing serious structural damage. Also, they nest in hollow doors, cracks and crevices,
furniture, wall voids, and termite galleries. New building infestation occurs when land-cleaning in the area disturbs existing
native colonies.
Excerpts from University of California Agriculture & Natural Resources, UCIPMOnline, “Statewide
Pest Management Program”.
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