Testing services indicate if your house is really healthy

By Kurt Gutknecht

Fitchburg Star, Fitchburg, Wis.

July 12, 2007

Your home is your castle, a refuge, a major investment, pride of the neighborhood, a repository of dreams and aspirations.

Of course, it just might be making you sick— bombarding you with pesticides, assaulting you with radon and bathing you in a variety of electromagnetic radiation or volatile organic compounds. Oh, and your vacuum cleaner could be stirring up clouds of skin cells, dust particles and insect parts that settle deep into your lungs.

Maybe there’s nothing to worry about. But do you really know? Martine Davis didn’t worry about it when she and her family moved to their farmhouse in Missouri. A few months later, she was so sick as to be bedridden much of the time and had to quit working as a computer programmer. Doctors provided various diagnoses – chronic fatigue syndrome, Lyme’s disease, multiple chemical sensitivity and lupus, among others. The only one that was somewhat accurate was chronic fatigue syndrome because Davis concedes that she was chronically fatigued.

She began trying to find out the cause, reading and searching the Internet. She tried every plausible cure, include holistic treatments such as chelation, homeopathy, acupuncture, herbs and nutritional regimes. All helped to some degree.

Two years later, she began feeling better, after learning that the former owner of the house had drenched it in chlordane to make sure it was free of termites. The pesticide was banned but the farmer used some leftover stock. Davis doesn’t think it’s a coincidence that, a year later, the farmer was also diagnosed with Lyme’s disease and was in a wheelchair.

The inability to work and the inability to identify a cause for her condition fueled suspicions among some that her ailments were psychosomatic, Davis said.

Following her recovery, Davis was certified by the International Institute for Bau-Biologie (building biology) in Clearwater, Fla., and later served on the organization’s board of directors. Bau-Biologie, which originated in Germany, deals with the relationship between indoor pollution and human health.

According to a study by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, levels of pollution in almost two-thirds of buildings are often six to eight times higher than the outdoor environment in cities. Some attribute the pollution to causing or worsening conditions such as multiple chemical sensitivity and asthma, among others.

Davis recently moved to Madison and operates Indoor Environmental Testing, Inc. She operated a similar business in Illinois for seven years, where she inspected more than 300 homes.

She emphasizes that her inspections are science-based, using proven technology and tests. The cost usually ranges from $400 to $800, depending on the number and types of tests.

Davis said there are various ways to test for pesticides, including testing clothing (pesticides are attracted to synthetic materials) and dust (it forms a thin film). The most common method of absorption is through the skin. The air can also be tested for pesticides, but she said the results aren’t as reliable.

Davis gardened extensively with her bare hands when she moved into the new house, which probably increased her exposure since the farmer had also treated the soil.

Davis also tests for radon. The levels in her house were 43 pico curies, far above the acceptable maximum of 4 pico curies. She doesn’t attribute her illness to radon, since its adverse effects usually involve long-term exposure.

She can also take particle counts using a device that incorporates a laser beam. The particles, which are those flecks often visible in a shaft of sunlight consist of fibers, skin cells, dander, pollen, mold and other substances. The particle count should always be less than the outdoor count, but that’s often not the case.

Increased ventilation can help, but she tries to identify the source. Sometimes it’s a dirty filter in the furnace. Even a vacuum cleaner can stir up clouds of harmful dust.

A lab can further analyze air samples, which are a good barometer of housekeeping, based on the number of items such as skin cells, dander and insect fragments. Some of her clients have her test every time they move to a different house.

There are numerous sources of volatile organic compounds, such as paint, upholstery and the fragrances in laundry products and personal care products. Levels are often high following the installation of wood floors and cabinets. Where such substances have already been used, it’s often necessary to circulate more fresh air through the house.

She also tests levels of natural gas. Even though it contains a distinctive odorant, the smell from a small leak might not be noticeable if it dissipates. The same is true for sewer gas.

Then there are magnetic and electrical fields. People often call if they think levels of mold are high; the culprit is often electromagnetic fields, Davis said. The symptoms of exposure often resemble those associated with allergies. In some cases, people have felt better when they stopped using their cell phones.

There are measures to eliminate exposure to nearly all types of fields except those from a high-voltage transmission line, Davis said.

She often hears from families who are grateful for her work but concedes that she might not hear from those who weren’t satisfied.

Since 1996, Andrew Pace with Safe Building Solutions, Waukesha, has provided healthy building products for remodeling projects and new construction. He said it’s been an uphill battle convincing contractors to incorporate the materials, but more are doing so in response to customers’ demands.

He’s alarmed by the perception that “green” and “environmentally friendly” building practices are also healthy for humans. It’s often the reverse, he said.

Since the oil embargo of the 1970s, there’s been an emphasis on making houses tighter to conserve energy. The reduction in air exchange often means people are exposed to dangerous levels of some of the 87,000 chemicals used in construction; the toxicology has been determined for only 3 to 5 percent of them, Pace said.

“It’s a chemical soup,” he said.

Several other supposedly environmentally friendly practices add to the problem, such as fabricating boards and trusses from lumber and chips from high-growth trees, which involves several toxic glues and adhesives.

And there’s the widespread assumption that reducing levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), applied in green building construction and in LEED standards, results in a healthy environment.

Not so, said Pace. VOCs involve only one category of compounds – those that are readily vaporized at room temperature – and ignores other chemicals that are highly dangerous, such as acetone and ammonia.

The most popular product he sells is Safecoat paints, which he said are more expensive than conventional paints sold at discount stores but are similar in price to conventional high-quality paints. Other products include carpet, caulk and linoleum.

Paint outgases for 2-1/2 to 4 years, so covering it with a healthy paint can significantly reduce exposure, Pace said.

Many homeowners want to reduce their carbon footprint, use natural materials and create a healthy environment. Pace said it’s not possible to incorporate all three criteria, and it’s often difficult to meet two of them. In some instances, an older home that’s less energy efficient could be significantly healthier for its occupants than one that’s energy-efficient.

Contacts:

Martine Davis, Indoor Environmental Testing Inc. 1-800-692-4783, info@airinspector.com.

Andrew Pace (www.safebuildingsolutions.com; 1-800-697-5371) works with Robin Pharo, Healthy Home Reports, Mt. Horeb, 608-437-8633, www.healthyhomereports.com. Pace recommended the book, Homes That Heal by Athena Thomson.

(Kurt Gutkneckt is editor of the Fitchburg Star, a paper of the Unifed Newspaper Group serving the southern suburbs of Madison, Wis. The group can be found online at http://www.unifiednewsgroup.com/index.cfm)

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