Hazardous Materials 

Lets me be honest about home inspectors and hazardous materials.  It is impossible for any home inspector to report on most hazardous materials in a home.  A short list of hazards we commonly come into contact with are: Radon, Mold, Lead, Asbestos, and Co (Carbon Monoxide). Let me give a brief report on each of these substances.

Radon is the easiest to talk about.  50% of all homes in Western Pennsylvania fail radon testing.  It is the buyers choice not to have radon testing, and there is no authority that requires it.  However, considering the amout of homes that fail, and the fact that testing is far cheaper then the cost of remediation it really doesn't make sense to not test.  Children and pregnant women are particulairly suceptable to high radon as well as the elderly, and according to the State of Pennsylvania sellers are required to pay for radon remediation as one can not sell a home with a known hazardous substance present.

Mold is present in every home.  The issue is what kind of mold and at what levels is it present.  Testing is the only way to find out.  Families with members who have any kind of breathing problems should test.  There is mone on this subject on the mold page.

Lead is an issue in homes today.  Its presence can contribute to mild brain damage in children as well as impotency and short term memory loss in adults, but it is rare for any home inspector to test for it.  Here is the reason why. When testing is done, and a home is found to have high levels of lead the solution is encapsulation.  In other words sand and paint.  It is far cheaper when bubling paint is located, and the age of the home indicates that lead paint is a possibility to simply encourage our clients to sand and paint.  Lead testing is expensive, and considering the end result is the same the the expense is not really worth it.  Lead in the water is another issue due to lead flux in older copper water pipes, but it can also be easily resolved by filtering.

Asbestos was used in hundreds of products before 1978.  Some of those products are readily identifiable by me and other home inspectors, but some products are probably walked by home inspectors every day.  Similar products can contain different amounts of asbestos depending upon manufacturer and time it was manufactured making identification difficult.

I test for Co (Carbon Monoxide) when appropriate.  When a component is backdrafting, and furnaces are past their design life are the twe most common times that I test for Co, but Co is a taseless, odorless, colorless gas that can not be seen during an inspection.  Despite testing there is no guarentee any home inspector can give that it is not present in a home.  The best defence is to make sure fuel burning appliances are well cleaned and maintained during their lifetime.  Installing new components after their design life is over is also a good idea even if the components looks to be in reasonable shape.