If your house was built before 1978, there is a chance that lead was used during the construction of your house. Lead is an element that is found naturally in soil, air, and water. However, lead began to be used in many homes throughout the 1900’s. It was mostly used in the form of lead paint and in pipes made out of lead. Pipes made out of lead were commonly used all the way up until the late 1980’s, so houses constructed after 1978 may still be at risk. If you have a home that could be contaminated with lead, it’s important for it to get inspected or assessed, especially if you have young children living in the house. Young children are one of the most harmed groups by having lead in your house. Young children are known to peel off the lead paint used in their homes and eat it, leading to terrible health effects. Along with having your home assessed if you have young children, you should also have your home assessed for lead contamination if you are about to remodel your home. Lead-based paint will be disturbed while you are remodeling, creating dust and chips that will negatively affect your family or the people performing the remodeling on your home.
Another situation in which you should have your home assessed or inspected for lead is if you are in the process of renting or buying a new home. If you are purchasing a new home, you do not want to purchase one that uses lead paint or pipes that will have to get abated later on. To avoid having to unnecessarily pay for a lead abatement in your home, make sure to have a lead inspection or assessment done on any home before you purchase it or rent it.
When having an inspection and risk assessment done on your home, it’s important to know the difference between the two. An inspection is not as in-depth as a risk assessment, as an inspection will mainly focus on whether or not there is any lead, and not go much deeper than that. If you are purchasing or renting a home, this is the type of inspection that will need to be done. There isn’t really a point in conducting a risk assessment unless you are looking to purchase the house and want to know the extent to which the lead has permeated the home.
A risk assessment, as previously mentioned, is much more intensive than an inspection. Whereas inspections will only determine whether lead is present, a risk assessment will determine where exactly the lead is found in the home, how bad the contamination is, what type of lead has contaminated the home, and also tips on how to manage the particle lead problem.
Having lead in your home is extremely dangerous, it can lead to health problems for everyone in the home, especially young children. It’s important to immediately have your home assessed or inspected if you think your home could possibly have any kind of lead in it.
