Environmental Essay on Housing & Habitability

SITUATION: You are an environmental health inspector asked to investigate problems at a local apartment complex. There is lead-based paint peeling from the walls, and mold growing on the walls. Summarize the public health hazard and what may be done to control it.

The place where people live is extremely important since it produces a profound impact on their health. In such a situation, it is extremely important that homes where people live were really safe and environmentally friendly. However, in recent years, in the result of the use of technologies that may be potentially dangerous and ignorance of such problem as mold may lead to serious problems of tenants.

In this respect, it is necessary to point out that mold may represent a serious threat to the health of people and it is really important to get rid of the mold as soon as possible before it produces a negative impact on the health of tenants. The recent researches, Beate Jacob and other specialists, underline that mold may be a source of allergic sensitization, especially, among children.

In their research, they have found that mold may eventually lead to such serious diseases as asthma, hay fever, eczema and others. Consequently, it is obvious that mold growing on walls represents a threat to the health of tenants and may provoke allergic sensitization and serious health problems. This is why the walls of the local apartment complex should be cleaned from mold.

At the same time, the cleaning of walls may also provoke some problems. For instance, the use of lead-based paint peeling from the walls may be also dangerous to the health of tenants living in the local apartment complex. In this respect, it should be said that lead may provoke cancer diseases, especially if people living in the apartments will expose to inhaling it in the result peeling from the walls . This is why it is extremely important to avoid using lead-based paint peeling in the apartments, instead, it is possible to suggest using alternative, lead-free materials to peel paint from the walls that will not cause harm to the health of tenants.

In such a way, tenants should be very careful about the state of their apartments and materials that are used to make some repair there. Otherwise, the ignoring of mold or the use of lead-based materials may lead to serious health problems, including allergic sensitization, asthma, hay fever, cancer and others.

References

Dales, R.E. et al. (1997). “Indoor air quality and health: validity and determinants of reported home dampness and moulds.” Int J Epidemiol 26:120–125.
Garrett, M.H. et al. (1998). “Indoor airborne fungal spores, house dampness and associations with environmental factors and respiratory health in children.” Clin Exp Allergy 28:459–467.
Jacob B, et al. (2002). Indoor Exposure to Molds and Allergic Sensitization. Retrieved August 31, 2007 from http://realtytimes.com/rtnews/rtcpages/19991214_habitability.htm
Martin, C.J. et al. (1987). “Housing conditions and ill helath.” Br Med J 294:1125–1127
Warner J.A. et al. (1991). “The influence of exposure to house dust mite, cat, pollen and fungal allergens in the home on primary sensitization in asthma.” Pediatr Allergy Immunol 1:79–86.