Lead and Asbestos: Issues in Older Homes

 When you live in a house, you want to be able to feel safe and secured at all times. Your San Antonio home is one of the places where you can control what happens. Here, you can protect your family from burglars and perpetrators; given you have applied safety practices and installed devices. You can also design the house to which it can be considered accident proof.
 
 However, some homes (especially if it was just a re-sell or property flip) may not be totally safe at all. Older homes that existed way back into the early 1900′s and thru the 1970′s may have been built with components that could be extremely threatening to our health. And this is because of materials like lead and asbestos that were used.
 
 Lead and asbestos has alarmed people and the government since it was found that these materials were related to various health problems and could possibly even lead to death.
 
 So what are the issues with lead and asbestos in older homes?
 
 To start with, let’s discuss lead.
 
 Lead in Older Homes
 
 Back when lead was popular in paint, which are probably any homes built before 1978 have a good chance of having lead based paint used on, and in them. Lead paint was generally used as pigment and a drying agent. But lead was then banned by the government because it was known to cause poisoning. It was learned that it could accumulate in blood when the paint is ingested or inhaled. So how is this possible? For one, lead paint could deteriorate. When it does, its surface would chip off, getting onto your hands. So the transmission of the paint would be hand to mouth. Kids can be a common victim of this transmission. Sometimes, lead paint upon deterioration would also create dust particles. This could then be inhaled, causing concentrations of lead in the blood.
 
 A high lead content in the body could result in poisoning. If this happens, kids could have poor mental function. Fetuses exposed may grow abnormally. Adults may have poor nerve and motor functioning.
 
 Asbestos in Older Homes
 
 Asbestos is also one of the issues in buying an old homes. Although it is known for its insulating abilities and durability, this material has been known to cause various respiratory problems. It is also associated with lung cancer and Mesothelioma. Asbestos had many uses in your home. It was used as part of your roofing since it was probably made of asbestos cement. It was popular for insulation and it also used for textured painting. Vinyl tiles can also contain asbestos. Therefore, one must assume that most of the older homes contain asbestos as this was a commonly used product before 1978.
 
 The danger of asbestos occurs if the person disturbs the fibers. If it so happened that a component with asbestos was damaged or accidentally opened, the fibers could be introduced into the air circulation of your house. As a result, the indoor air quality of your home would be compromised.
 
 Suggestions:
 If you plan to buy an older home, you must make sure that it is properly inspected. If you have any lead paint, you should replace it with the new non-toxic versions. If you suspect an area has asbestos, limit activities in that area and try to avoid further contact until a trained certified professional can assess the situation for you.
 
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