M1.5 Blog Assignment: Environmental Health Home Assessment

M1.5 Blog Assignment: Environmental Health Home Assessment

Did you understand why all of the questions on the Assessment tool pointed to an environmental health risks?

Yes, because homes are built during different time periods were some might have such things as asbestos ceilings and mercury thermometer heaters. While newer homes come more equipped with new standards on what should be found in homes. All contribute to our health risk. For example, my home was built in 1928, it use to have asbestos ceilings till my parents were educated on the ill effects asbestos has on our lungs. My parents decided to have professionals come in chip off the asbestos and paint over it.

Did you discover any environmental risks in your home by completing the home assessment?
In doing the home assessment I did discover some risks. One already covered,having asbestos but now has been eliminated. Some new ones I have discovered are not having a home Radon test, having a home built before 1978, having a fireplace but I would not consider that hazardous due to it being unused. Another risk I discovered was my home not being tested for lead. For living in a home that was built in 1928, my family should know whether or not our home has been tested for lead. I will look into it on a future date.

In the home assessment, why did we want to know about the age of your home?
Because homes built before 1978 should be tested for lead and lead was banned for indoor use the same year.

Why would we want to know if someone lives in the basement? 
We should want to know if someone lives in the basement because of moisture, mold, high levels of radon, increased levels of carbon monoxide due to if furnace of other combustion is in the basement. If where an attached garage with a car that has the ignition on and leave it heating has a potential of spreading carbon monoxide.

Who is responsible for home-based environmental health risks?
Local health department, environmental department and private companies where you may need to pay a need.

Assessment 

Home built before 1978 - yes
Home tested for lead - n/a
Living space in basement - no
Attached garage - yes
Home radon test -no
Home radon ventilation system - no
Living space in basement - no

Combustion heating source - n/a
Gas, kerosene or propane - n/a
space heater - no
Wood stove -no
Fireplace - yes

Gas dryer - no
Vented - no
Gas hot water heater- yes
Vented -n/a
Gas stove - yes

Well water - no
Lead pipes - no
Water tested for contaminants - n/a
known contaminants- n/a

Insects in home - no
Rodents in home -np
If yes what: ________________________________
Pesticide spraying in home -no
If yes what / how often:______________________
Pesticide contract -no
Frequency:_________________________________

Air freshener used in home - no
Candles -yes
Plug-ins -no
Incense -no
How many times per day: 1
Use of strong smelling cleaners - yes

Smoking allowed in home -no
House smells like smoke -no

Cigarette products present -no

Comments

  1. UnknownAugust 31, 2018 at 10:02 AM

    Hi Christina,
    It's interesting that we both live in old homes. I think that's actually pretty common for San Francisco, but like you I have never had my house tested for lead. That's good that your parents got rid of the asbestos! I know my work environment is full of asbestos, but they assure us that as long as it's not disturbed (i.e., does not become airborne) then it poses no risk. It still makes me nervous. It seems almost impossible to avoid these exposures in our home environment, but hopefully this awareness can help us chip away at them slowly!
    Malena

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Blog: Watch M10.1 Video!

1) Consider your workplace or a workplace of one of your family members. Are there chemical, biological, radiological or ergonomic issues? Using the industrial hygiene hierarchy of controls, how might you address the issues? How are they being addressed in reality? I work at ZSFG (Zuckerberg San Francisco General). I would say all those exist here. Different buildings would fall under each category. Currently the new building has the state of the art equipment where radiological harm would be more common to workers. Working at a hospital you need equipment to detect what is wrong with patients at the cost of being exposed to chemical, biological and radiological harm. By using the hierarchy of controls the elimination phase would be removing equipment that is no longer in use or too old to be in operation to combat the harmful effects it has on workers. Substitution would be taking out old equipment that pose harm to workers and bring in new equipment that will emit less substances ...
Read more

M3.4 Air Pollution

Image
Watching the youtube video, I felt like it introduced me more to air quality. I have some knowledge on it from taking some health class during undergrad, but only understanding the iceberg of it. The 10 minute video summarizes how poor air quality is made up and the effects it has on the human population and the place we call home, planet earth. It was interesting learning about how sulfuric acid is made and how other chemical compounds can wreak havoc when produced. Looking over the air quality index I learned how to read AQI levels on air quality. It connects to the poor air quality we experienced with the fires last October. To learn what numbers indicate what color to use to warn those that the air is good, moderate or poor. I also learned about the ozone, the one Earth has and the one us humans create with pollutants from cars and factories.  Who and what are the top polluters in your zip code? The top polluters in my...
Read more

M10.2 Blog about MSDS and ToxNet

What are the health risks associated with this chemical? It was hard to find a sole chemical for ZSFG but I came across a compound used here called Metaltite which is used as a dental cement in one of the clinics in building 5 (there are many buildings located in ZSFG but building 5 is where some clinics can be found).  Is the chemical a carcinogen? Under OSHA, this compound is found to be hazardous and a highly flammable liquid and vapor. On the sheet it does not indicate whether it is a carcinogen but searching on the web it was hard to find much information on it. What personal protective equipment or special precautions should be taken when working with this chemical? Those who come in contact with Metaltite should wear protective clothing such as gloves and safety goggles and those who are handling it should not allow this compound to enter drains, sewers or watercourses. Handling of Metaltite should be taken place in a well-ventilated area and kept aw...
Read more