Hazards of Empty Homes
Thursday, June 25th, 2009
Foreclosed and abandoned homes are among the sadder by-products of the ongoing economic downtown. Abandoned homes represent more than displaced families, however. They are becoming problems and hazards. For example, abandoned homes become shelters for gangs and drug users, disrupting a neighborhood. Unkempt yards shelter vermin.
Abandoned homes also become fire hazards. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) reported in April that in recent years fires in vacant houses rose 11 percent while all home fires rose just 4 percent. Many of these fires are set by vandals or the departing former owners, but others are accidents caused by people taking shelter. According to NFPA, in the U.S. every year about 50 people who are not firefighters die in fires in abandoned buildings. Last year a Detroit firefighter died while putting out a fire in an abandoned home.
The hazards of empty homes are particularly acute in the hot and humid southern states. Empty homes quickly begin to rot, literally. Black mold can ruin carpets and streak up walls within a few weeks. Mosquitoes lay eggs in toilets. Recently thousands of dead bees were found in a Florida home abandoned in April.
And then there are looters and vandals. Abandoned houses often are stripped of all light fixtures, cabinets, bathtubs, sinks, toilets, pipes, and of course any furniture left behind. This takes us to another potential hazard in crumbling homes, asbestos exposure.
Although asbestos insulation was banned years ago, the Environmental Protection Agency estimates that about 35 million homes in America are insulated with asbestos-contaminated vermiculite. Newer homes might have asbestos-vinyl floor tiles or asbestos in the roof coatings. People ripping fixtures out of walls might easily be exposed. As the home continues to crumble — or burn — the chance that asbestos fibers will be released becomes greater. Diseases caused by asbestos exposure include mesothelioma, a deadly lung cancer, and asbestosis.
There are estimates of more than 19 million abandoned homes nationwide, a number that could easily grow larger before the economy turns around, and which are causes problems that might be felt for years. Some suggest it would be better for everyone if former owners be allowed to remain in their homes as tenants.
Barbara O’Brien
June 25, 2009
