Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
for IAQ/IE programs and responding to citizen information requests. All
regions have several staff members who serve as regional asbestos coordi-
nators and others who serve as lead coordinators. These coordinators assist
state agencies and others who have either asbestos- or lead-related concerns.
A model national education program to improve the quality of indoor
air in homes and protect public health from home-related indoor air con-
tamination has been developed as a collaborative effort between the Coop-
erative Extension Service (CES) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture
(USDA) and USEPA. The
program
uses university faculty as state program managers and is delivered through
the CES's network of trained professional and volunteer community leaders.
The program has developed extensive teaching materials and attempts to
provide accurate up-to-date information on IAQ/IE problems such as radon,
carbon monoxide, home remodeling hazards, etc., to homeowners/leasers.
Healthy Indoor Air for America's Homes
H. Civil litigation
In our civil legal system in the U.S., individuals who have suffered some
form of personal injury or property damage as a result of the wrongful action
of others have a right to seek legal redress. One can, under a number of legal
theories, file suit seeking monetary, and in some cases punitive, damages for
injuries claimed. These include expressed warranties, implied warranties,
negligence, and strict liability.
Expressed warranties are made by sellers of products and appear in sales
contracts, labels, advertising, or samples. They are positive representations
of products. Liability depends only on the falsity of the representation and
not on any particular knowledge of fault by sellers. Because of their relative
simplicity, liability claims based on breach of an expressed warranty are often
a desirable means of pursuing redress of personal injury.
Implied warranties are interpreted by courts to exist even when no
expressed warranties are made by product manufacturers/sellers. Products
are assumed to be fit for the normal purposes for which they are intended.
In the case of mobile homes and other residential structures, the courts
assume that they are fit for human habitation. One may not be fit for human
habitation if it is structurally unsound or heavily contaminated with such
substances as HCHO, pesticides, other toxic substances, or mold such as
that pose a substantial risk of serious health problems to those
who would dwell in it. Habitability has been a major warranty claim in law
suits involving HCHO in mobile homes, and misapplication of pesticides or
contamination by toxic substances such as mercury in residences.
Negligence is one of the most widely applied principles in product
liability claims, as well as claims involving problem/sick buildings. Negli-
gence is legally defined as failure by a defendant to exercise due care, the
level of care that would be exercised by a “reasonable person.” The level
of care in providing a service depends on what is accepted in the profes-
sional community as good practice. If a defendant in the conduct of his/her
Stachybotrys
