Hazardous duty
Help your clients by learning more about potential hazards found in homes.

An Article From The Texas Association of Realtors

by Ward Lowe

Every house has a quirk or two, whether it’s a porch light that flickers when it rains or a bathroom door that won’t stay closed. Homeowners learn to live with such inconveniences, and buyers expect little surprises like these to surface in the months after they close.

However, some houses have things like aluminum wiring, radon, lead-based paint, asbestos, and mold. Far from quirky, these conditions are a bit more troublesome and, depending on the situation, may affect someone’s health. It’s not your job to search for or fix these conditions, but it’s a good idea to know a little about them to assist your clients.

Many environmental and man-made conditions in homes worry people—you can help your clients understand the risks and reach a logical conclusion. You can provide your seller with information on what to do if his house contains such a condition or assist your buyer in finding a qualified professional to assess the impact of such a condition.

Aluminum Wiring

Just because a house has aluminum wiring doesn’t mean a buyer should immediately assume that it needs to be rewired. Many homes built in the late 1960s and early 1970s were wired with aluminum, which can be just as safe as copper wire as long as it has been installed correctly.

Aluminum wires expand and contract more than copper ones as they warm and cool. Also, aluminum wires tend to oxidize when in contact with certain metals. When aluminum oxidizes, it heats up more to conduct the same amount of electricity, which then causes more oxidation. Eventually, aluminum wires may start to overheat and melt the attached fixture.

If your clients are considering purchasing a home with aluminum wiring, recommend that they hire a licensed electrician or inspector to check the wiring system for any potential problems. There are several safe remedies available to them besides a complete rewiring of the house.

Radon

In addition to the standard real estate inspection, your buyers might want to consider a test for radon. This colorless, odorless gas occurs naturally in the soil as a by-product of decaying uranium, and breathing its particles increases a person’s risk of developing lung cancer, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Certain areas of the country are more prone to radon than others, but it exists in every state. The average level of radon in Texas homes is within national norms, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services; however, radon levels can vary from house to house on a given street, depending on the soil surrounding the structure and construction techniques used.

Radon from the soil enters a home through small openings, such as tiny cracks in the concrete foundation, making lower levels of structures more susceptible to radon. The gas also can seep into ground water, putting houses that use well water at a higher risk for radon than those on a municipal supply.

The EPA recommends that buyers ask for either recent test results or to have the property tested. Even very high radon levels can be successfully lowered in a house through relatively inexpensive methods. Your clients can learn more about radon testing and remediation by calling the Radiation Control at the Texas Department of State Health Services at 512/834-6688 or the National Radon Hotline at 800/SOS-RADON; the national hotline will send consumers information as well as discount coupons for radon test kits.

Asbestos

Once used in a variety of construction applications because of its durability, strength, and resistance to fire, asbestos was discovered to have one large drawback: It’s a carcinogen. If inhaled, the fibrous material lodges in the lungs and—because of its durability—stays in tissue. Repeated exposures can lead to lung and stomach cancer.

Asbestos use was curtailed in the 1970s. Before then, however, it was used in floor and ceiling tiles, insulation, roofing, shingles, siding, and some shielding around heating and electrical systems. Properly installed, asbestos-containing materials do not usually present a health risk. As long as the materials remain intact, the fibers cannot be released into the air; the danger arises when the materials begin to deteriorate or need to be disturbed due to remodeling or other work.

Buyers concerned about asbestos in a home should consult their real estate inspector or contact the Texas Department of State Health Services at 800/572-5548 for more information about asbestos, its inspection, and its remediation.

Lead-based Paint

The toxic effects of the element lead have been known for many years, and more recent research suggests that lead poses a hazard at lower levels of concentrations than previously thought. As most people know, the chief lead danger in homes comes from lead-based paint. According to the EPA, lead-based paint was applied to about two-thirds of homes built before 1940, about one-third between 1940 and 1960, and to a smaller percentage between 1960 and 1978. The use of lead-based paint was banned in 1978.

Airborne particles from flaking lead-based paint can be inhaled and will accumulate in a person’s tissues and organs. A high enough accumulation of lead in the body results in damage to the central nervous system. An equal lead concentration in a child and an adult is more dangerous for the child due to his smaller body weight.

Like asbestos, lead-based paint in good condition poses little risk to a home’s occupants. However, sellers of homes built before 1978 must provide information regarding the presence of known lead-based paint (as cited in the applicable TREC addendum), allow a 10-day opportunity for purchasers to conduct an inspection or risk assessment, deliver the pamphlet Protect Your Family From Lead in Your Home to potential buyers, and include the lead warning statement in the contract. This statement is a short paragraph about lead-based paint and lead-based paint hazards.

Mold

Molds are fungi—usually microscopic—that occur in nature in large quantities. Mold spores waft continually through the air both indoors and outdoors. When mold spores land on a damp spot, they may begin growing and digesting whatever they are growing on in order to survive.

At least 1,000 species of mold are common in the U.S. Stachybotrys chartarum (also known as stachybotrys atra) is a type of mold that has been associated with health effects in people. It is a greenish-black mold that can grow on materials with a high cellulose content—drywall, drop ceiling tiles, wood—that become chronically moist or water-damaged. Even if the area dries and the mold stops growing, black dust from the fungus can spread through the air.

We are all exposed to many kinds of mold both inside and outside the house; however, some people seem to be more sensitive to mold and may suffer from cold-like symptoms. When breathed, some mold spores are small enough to go deeply into the lungs and cause serious illness. There is no practical way to eliminate mold and mold spores in the indoor environment; the way to control indoor mold growth is to control moisture.

Houses where mold is suspected should be assessed by abatement contractors familiar with the precautions and other specifics important for extensive clean-up. Clients can find more information and resources from the EPA online at www.epa.gov.

Electromagnetic Fields

Electromagnetic fields (EMFs) are created whenever electricity passes through a conductor. They’re comprised of an electric field, whose strength depends on the voltage being carried, and a magnetic field, whose strength depends on the current carried. All electronic devices and live wires create an EMF; however, high-voltage power transmission lines create a much larger one than a toaster or the wires in a home’s wall.

While nearby power lines may make a home less attractive to potential buyers, there is little conclusive evidence that they pose a health risk to occupants. Among the many studies of EMFs’ risk to humans, the largest was conducted by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and the U.S. Department of Energy. This six-year project determined that scientific evidence of health risks from EMFs is weak. You can download this study as a PDF and find other related resources to provide to your clients at www.niehs.nih.gov.

When properly addressed by qualified professionals, many environmental conditions can be remedied. Help your buyers understand the environmental conditions they may discover in a house that they’re buying, and assist your sellers when they discover such conditions in their listing.