My Environment: Home Assessment

M1.5: Environmental Health Home Assessment

I feel like I understood why the majority of the questions were asked on the Home Environmental Health and Safety Assessment Tool. The information about water safety and pest control make sense to me, however I was really surprised to see questions about a gas dryer and gas hot water heater. It was very surprising to hear that gas appliances, without the proper ventilation, can cause carbon monoxide poisoning. Additionally, it opened my eyes to my lack of emergency preparedness plan. At the moment there is all but 0 thought into what would happen in an emergency, including owning an extinguisher for any small house fires. Seeing small, and seemingly accomplishable steps, that can make my house safer, seems like a manageable task for my housemates and my own safety.

I believe that my house's major risks seem to be the gas appliances, our pest issue, and the potential that we have lead pipes, however we have a filtration system that we use for our drinking water. One element of health risk that I did not see on this list, that my housemates and I have been fighting has been black mold as well. Since we live in close proximity to the beach and have poor whole house air circulation, we had to start using dehumidifiers to prevent the mold from growing in cold and damp parts of the house.

In this process of understanding my living space safety I found that my house was built in 1976, which means there is a good chance that it has lead pipes for its water system and the potential of having used lead based paint. Both of these facts are solely around the age of the house, which is an important fact to know because different rules and regulations about the infrastructure and interior chemicals used to build your house can inferred through that age.  San Francisco removed lead service lines in 1980, so any house built post that date does not use lead pipes. Additionally, lead-based paint was banned in 1978, which means that homes built before that date (like mine) could have been impacted. Additionally, the commonly used fire retardant asbestos was banned in 1977, however, houses built between 1930 and 1950 could have the chemical built into its walls and ceiling.

This exercise was also very enlightening to learn about the risks of living in the basement, where I myself do not currently live in a basement, but my sister currently does in our living situation. I am very well informed about the mould issue in the basement, but was very surprised to learn about potential health effects like Radon and Carbon Monoxide, which could be a risk when living under the house.

The San Francisco Department of Public Health does strive to ensure environmental safety across all those living in the city, however it is largely up to the homeowner or landlord for the upkeep and safety in the home. Depending on the severity and prevalence of the risk, in which case there could be 3rd party intervention, the property owner must ensure that they have the appropriate appliances and needed tools in their home in order to ensure the health and safety of its occupants.