Category: Environmental

In 1980, when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency started its ultimately unsuccessful 10-year effort to ban asbestos, one of its first studies declared in no uncertain terms: “The Agency has determined that exposure to asbestos in school buildings poses a significant hazard to public health.” Thirty Years Later, the Hazard is Still Widespread In 1980,…

Do not paint or caulk moldy surfaces. Painting or caulking over mold will not prevent mold from growing. Paint applied over moldy surfaces is likely to peel. Molds can still grow on almost any painted surface, such as wood, ceiling tiles, wallpaper, drywall, sheet rock, and insulation. Painting over mold only hides the problem and…

Mildew and molds are fungi – simple microscopic organisms that thrive anywhere there is a moist environment. Molds are a necessary part of the environment; without them, leaves would not decay and aspects of soil enrichment could not take place. It is their ability to destroy organic materials, however, that makes mold a problem for…

Asbestos is a mineral fiber that occurs in rock and soil. Because of its fiber strength and heat resistance asbestos has been used in a variety of building construction materials for insulation and as a fire retardant. Asbestos has also been used in a wide range of manufactured goods, mostly in building materials (roofing shingles,…