Check for environmental risks in your home!
checklist, you can discover which topics in the Assessment Guide may be most applicable to your home.
"Yes" answers indicate potential problems or health concerns you will want to investigate.
1. Site Assessment Check
box if yes
a. Is your soil sandy or gravelly, allowing water to drain through quickly?
b. Is there a potential source of contamination --such as manure,
pesticide or fertilizer storage, fuel tank, septic system drainfield, or
eroding soils -- on your property located within 100 feet of a well, lake,
stream, or wetland?
c. Is the water table less than 10 feet below the soil surface?
2. Stormwater Runoff
Check box if yes
a. Do the downspouts from your roof gutters empty onto paved surfaces
instead of grass, mulch or gravel, and thus keep rain from soaking into
the ground?
b. Are fertilizers, pesticides or salts stored where floodwaters might reach
them?
c. Are some parts of your property, particularly slopes, sparsely planted
and without mulch, exposing the soil to erosion?
3. Drinking Water Wells
Check box if yes
a. Has it been more than 2 years since your water was tested for
bacteria and nitrates?
b. Do you have a dug or driven well instead of a drilled well?
c. Does your well casing extend less than 12 inches above the ground,
or is there a low area where surface runoff can collect around the well
casing?
d. Do you have abandoned wells on your property that are not properly
filled and capped?
4. Household Wastewater Treatment
Check box if yes
a. Has it been more than 3 years since your septic tank was last pumped
or inspected?
b. Have you noticed any signs of a failing septic system, such as slow
drains, odors or soggy ground over the drainfield?
c. Do you have standard toilets and faucets, and not water-conserving
fixtures?
5. Hazardous Household Products
Check
box if yes
a. Do you use products without knowing whether or not they are
hazardous?
b. Do you ever pour hazardous chemicals -- such as antifreeze, oil,
paints, stains, polishes or solvents -- down the drain, in a ditch or on the
ground?
c. Do you burn plastics, batteries or chemicals that could contaminate
the air?
6. Lead Contamination
Check box if yes
a. Was your home built before 1978 (the year when lead was banned from
paint)?
b. Do children under the age of six live in your home?
c. Are painted surfaces inside and outside your home peeling, chipping or
chalking?
d. Is your drinking water delivered through pipes that are lead or in
contact with lead solder?
7. Yard and Garden Care
Check box if yes
a. If you use fertilizer, has it been longer than 3 years since you had your
soil tested for nutrients?
b. Do you ever use pesticides without reading the label or following the
recommended doses or application instructions?
c. Do you have bare areas of soil on your property that are susceptible to
erosion?
d. Are lawn and garden chemicals stored in an area exposed to activities
that could damage containers or result in chemical spills?
8. Liquid Fuels
Check
box if yes
a. Do you store fuel for your lawnmower or other gas-powered equipment
in non-approved containers -- such as glass jars, plastic jugs or rusted
cans?
b. Do you store fuel or heating oil in an underground fuel tank?
c. If you have an above-ground fuel tank, does it lack protection against
leaks or spills (e.g., a catch basin or concrete spill pad?)
9. Indoor Air Quality
Check box if yes
a. Do odors such as those from cooking linger in the air in your home?
b. In winter, do you often notice condensation on the inside of your
windows?
c. Have you noticed symptoms -- such as irritated eyes, coughing or
sneezing -- that most often develop when you stay indoors at home?
10. Heating and Cooling Systems
Check
box if yes
a. Has it been 2 or more years since your fuel-burning heating system was
inspected for proper ventilation and energy efficiency?
b. Are your energy bills relatively large for the size of your home?
c. Do you feel cold drafts around windows and doors during winter?
d. Does your attic lack the recommended amount of insulation?
11. Household Trash
Check box if yes
a. Do you purchase products that you don't really need (e.g. buy tools that
could be borrowed or shared)?
b. Do you buy products wrapped in excessive packaging?
c. Do you throw away yard and food waste that could be composted?