Lead in Homes

Facts about lead

FACT: Lead exposure can harm young children and babies even before they are born.
FACT: Even children who seem healthy can have high levels of lead in their bodies.
FACT: You can get lead in your body by breathing or swallowing lead dust, or by eating soil or paint chips containing lead.
FACT: You have many options for reducing lead hazards. In most cases, lead-based paint that is in good condition is not a hazard.
FACT: Removing lead-based paint improperly can increase the danger to your family.

Health effects of lead

Childhood lead poisoning remains a major environmental health problem in the United States.

• People can get lead in their body if they:
• Put their hands or other objects covered with lead dust in their mouths.
• Eat paint chips or soil that contains lead.
• Breathe in lead dust, especially during renovations that disturb painted surfaces.
• Lead is more dangerous to children because:
• Babies and young children often put their hands and other objects in their mouths. These objects can have lead dust on them.
• Children's growing bodies absorb more lead.
• Children's brains and nervous systems are more sensitive to the damaging effects of lead.
• If not detected early, children with high levels of lead in their bodies can suffer from:
• Damage to the brain and nervous system
• Behavior and learning problems, such as hyperactivity
• Slowed growth
• Hearing problems
• Headaches
• Lead is also harmful to adults. Adults can suffer from:
• Reproductive problems (in both men and women)
• High blood pressure and hypertension
• Nerve disorders
• Memory and concentration problems
• Muscle and joint pain

Where lead is found

In general, the older your home, the more likely it has lead-based paint.

• Paint. Many homes built before 1978 have lead-based paint. The federal government banned lead-based paint from housing in 1978. Some states stopped its use even earlier. Lead can be found:
• In homes in the city, country, or suburbs.
• In apartments, single-family homes, and both private and public housing.
• Inside and outside of the house.
• In soil around a home. Soil can pick up lead from exterior paint, or other sources such as past use of leaded gas in cars, and children playing in yards can ingest or inhale lead dust.
• Household dust. Dust can pick up lead from deteriorating lead-based paint or from soil tracked into a home.
• Drinking water. Your home might have plumbing with lead or lead solder. Call your local health department or water supplier to find out about testing your water. You cannot see, smell or taste lead, and boiling your water will not get rid of lead. If you think your plumbing might have lead in it:
• Use only cold water for drinking and cooking.
• Run water for 15 to 30 seconds before drinking it, especially if you have not used your water for a few hours.
• The job. If you work with lead, you could bring it home on your hands or clothes. Shower and change clothes before coming home. Launder your work clothes separately from the rest of your family's clothes.
• Old painted toys and furniture.
• Food and liquids stored in lead crystal or lead-glazed pottery or porcelain. Food can become contaminated because lead can leach in from these containers.
• Lead smelters or other industries that release lead into the air.
• Hobbies that use lead, such as making pottery or stained glass, or refinishing furniture.
• Folk remedies that contain lead, such as "greta" and "azarcon" used to treat an upset stomach.

Don't risk your family's health, contact us now at (866) 518-7658 or info@1-sg.com or visit our site http://www.1-sg.com/              

Sources:
http://www.epa.gov/

Indoor Air Quality and its Health Effects

What Causes Indoor Air Problems?

Indoor pollution sources that release gases or particles into the air are the primary cause of indoor air quality problems in homes. Inadequate ventilation can increase indoor pollutant levels by not bringing in enough outdoor air to dilute emissions from indoor sources and by not carrying indoor air pollutants out of the home. High temperature and humidity levels can also increase concentrations of some pollutants.

Pollutant Sources

There are many sources of indoor air pollution in any home. These include combustion sources such as oil, gas, kerosene, coal, wood, and tobacco products; building materials and furnishings as diverse as deteriorated, asbestos-containing insulation, wet or damp carpet, and cabinetry or furniture made of certain pressed wood products; products for household cleaning and maintenance, personal care, or hobbies; central heating and cooling systems and humidification devices; and outdoor sources such as radon, pesticides, and outdoor air pollution.
The relative importance of any single source depends on how much of a given pollutant it emits and how hazardous those emissions are. In some cases, factors such as how old the source is and whether it is properly maintained are significant. For example, an improperly adjusted gas stove can emit significantly more carbon monoxide than one that is properly adjusted.
Some sources, such as building materials, furnishings, and household products like air fresheners, release pollutants more or less continuously. Other sources, related to activities carried out in the home, release pollutants intermittently. These include smoking, the use of unvented or malfunctioning stoves, furnaces, or space heaters, the use of solvents in cleaning and hobby activities, the use of paint strippers in redecorating activities, and the use of cleaning products and pesticides in house-keeping. High pollutant concentrations can remain in the air for long periods after some of these activities.

Amount of Ventilation

If too little outdoor air enters a home, pollutants can accumulate to levels that can pose health and comfort problems. Unless they are built with special mechanical means of ventilation, homes that are designed and constructed to minimize the amount of outdoor air that can "leak" into and out of the home may have higher pollutant levels than other homes. However, because some weather conditions can drastically reduce the amount of outdoor air that enters a home, pollutants can build up even in homes that are normally considered "leaky".

Indoor Air Pollution and Health

Health effects from indoor air pollutants may be experienced soon after exposure or, possibly, years later.
Immediate effects

Immediate effects may show up after a single exposure or repeated exposures. These include irritation of the eyes, nose, and throat, headaches, dizziness, and fatigue. Such immediate effects are usually short-term and treatable. Sometimes the treatment is simply eliminating the person's exposure to the source of the pollution, if it can be identified. Symptoms of some diseases, including asthma, hypersensitivity pneumonia, and humidifier fever, may also show up soon after exposure to some indoor air pollutants.
The likelihood of immediate reactions to indoor air pollutants depends on several factors. Age and preexisting medical conditions are two important influences. In other cases, whether a person reacts to a pollutant depends on individual sensitivity, which varies tremendously from person to person. Some people can become sensitized to biological pollutants after repeated exposures, and it appears that some people can become sensitized to chemical pollutants as well.
Certain immediate effects are similar to those from colds or other viral diseases, so it is often difficult to determine if the symptoms are a result of exposure to indoor air pollution. For this reason, it is important to pay attention to the time and place symptoms occur. If the symptoms fade or go away when a person is away from home, for example, an effort should be made to identify indoor air sources that may be possible causes. Some effects may be made worse by an inadequate supply of outdoor air or from the heating, cooling, or humidity conditions prevalent in the home.

Long-term effects

Other health effects may show up either years after exposure has occurred or only after long or repeated periods of exposure. These effects, which include some respiratory diseases, heart disease, and cancer, can be severely debilitating or fatal. It is prudent to try to improve the indoor air quality in your home even if symptoms are not noticeable.
While pollutants commonly found in indoor air are responsible for many harmful effects, there is considerable uncertainty about what concentrations or periods of exposure are necessary to produce specific health problems. People also react very differently to exposure to indoor air pollutants. Further research is needed to better understand which health effects occur after exposure to the average pollutant concentrations found in homes and which occurs from the higher concentrations that occur for short periods of time.

Source(s): http://www.epa.gov/

Mold In The Environment , Mold Inspection and Why you need one

Mold lives in the soils, on plants, and on dead or decaying matter. Outdoors, mold plays a key role in the breakdown of leaves, wood, and other plant debris. Mold belongs to the kingdom Fungi, and unlike plants, they lack chlorophyll and must survive by digesting plant materials, using plant and other organic materials for food. Without mold, our environment would be overwhelmed with large amounts of dead plant matter.

Mold produces tiny spores that reproduce, just as some plants produce seeds.  These mold spores can be found in both indoor and outdoor air, and settled on  indoor and outdoor surfaces. When mold spores land on a damp area, they begin colonizing the host material.  Since mold gradually affects the matter it grows upon; you can prevent damage to building materials and furnishings and save money by eliminating mold growth (or minimizing the effects of mold growth by mitigation).

Moisture control is the key to mold control. Mold requires both food and water to survive; since mold can digest most matter, water is the factor that limits mold growth. Mold will often grow in damp or wet areas indoors. Common sites for indoor mold growth include bathroom tile, basement walls, areas around windows where moisture condenses, and near leaky water fountains or sinks. Common sources or causes of water or moisture problems include roof leaks, deferred maintenance, condensation associated with high humidity or cold spots in the building, localized flooding due to plumbing failures or heavy rains, slow leaks in plumbing fixtures, and malfunctioning or poor design of humidification systems. Uncontrolled humidity can also be a source of moisture leading to mold growth, particularly in hot, humid climates.

  

Health Effects and Symptoms Associated with Mold Exposure

When moisture problems occur and mold growth results, building occupants may begin to report odors and a variety of health problems, such as headaches,  breathing difficulties, skin irritation, allergic reactions, and aggravation of asthma symptoms; all of these symptoms could potentially be associated with mold exposure.
All molds have the potential to cause health effects. Molds produce allergens, irritants, and in some cases, toxins that may cause reactions in humans. The types and severity of symptoms depend, in part, on the types of mold present, the extent of an individual's exposure, the ages of the individuals, and their existing sensitivities or allergies.

Specific reactions to mold growth can include the following:

• Allergic Reactions
  
  Inhaling or touching mold or mold spores may cause allergic reactions in sensitive individuals. Allergic reactions to mold are common - these reactions can be immediate or delayed. Allergic responses include hay fever-type symptoms, such as sneezing, runny nose, red eyes, and skin rash (dermatitis). Mold spores and fragments can produce allergic reactions in sensitive individuals regardless of whether the mold is dead or alive. Repeated or single exposure to mold or mold spores may cause previously non-sensitive individuals to become sensitive. Repeated exposure has the potential to increase sensitivity.
   
• Asthma
  
  Molds can trigger asthma attacks in persons who are allergic (sensitized) to molds. The irritants produced by molds may also worsen asthma in non-allergic (non-sensitized) people.
   
• Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis
  
  Hypersensitivity pneumonitis may develop following either short-term (acute) or long-term (chronic) exposure to molds. The disease resembles bacterial pneumonia and is uncommon.
   
• Irritant Effects
  
  Mold exposure can cause irritation of the eyes, skin, nose, throat, and lungs, and sometimes can create a burning sensation in these areas.
   
• Opportunistic Infections
  
  People with weakened immune systems (i.e., immune-compromised or immune-suppressed individuals) may be more vulnerable to infections by molds (as well as more vulnerable than healthy persons to mold toxins). Aspergillus fumigatus, for example, has been known to infect the lungs of immune-compromised individuals. These individuals inhale the mold spores which then start growing in their lungs. Trichoderma has also been known to infect immune-compromised children.
  
  Healthy individuals are usually not vulnerable to opportunistic infections from airborne mold exposure. However, molds can cause common skin diseases, such as athlete's foot, as well as other infections such as yeast infections.

What is an inspection?

Inspections are visits to a facility or site (e.g., business, school, landfill) for the purpose of gathering information to determine whether it is in compliance. Inspections generally include pre-inspection activities such as obtaining general site information before entering the facility or site. Other activities that may be conducted during the on-site visit include:

• interviewing facility or site representatives,
• reviewing records and reports,
• taking photographs,
• collecting samples, and
• observing facility or site operations.

Don't risk your family's health, contact us now at (866) 518-7658 or info@1-sg.com or visit our site http://www.1-sg.com/                 

Sources: http://www.epa.gov/