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Attorney Shawn Collins of the Collins Law Firm discusses vapor intrusion.
If you have been told that your home or your neighbor's homes are threatened by vapor intrusion, I want you to understand how vapor intrusion happens. There are a lot of ways that volatile chemicals can enter the breathing space of a home and threaten the health of the residents. So let's look at a simple drawing of the process, and hopefully you will get a clearer idea of how vapor intrusion occurs.
In a typical scenario we see:
1. Chemical dumping at a factory, possibly as long as 50-60 years ago. Sometimes the factory pours the used chemicals directly on the ground; sometimes it is buried in drums.
2. The chemicals are volatile chemicals which, over time, turn into gas.
3. The chemicals are not cleaned up after they are dumped on the ground or buried.
4. The soil between the ground surface and the groundwater is porous. This allows the chemicals to seep down through the soil and contaminate the groundwater.
5. Shallow groundwater. In vapor intrusion scenarios, the distance between the contaminated groundwater and the basements of homes and buildings is small, usually between 5 - 40 feet. The smaller the distance, the more likely there is a problem.
6. The flow direction of the groundwater. If the contaminated groundwater flows under a neighborhood, those homes are in danger. The chemicals flow under the homes, turn into a gas and migrate up through the soil into the homes.
7. Nearby homes. Usually homes that are threatened by vapor intrusion are less than 1/2 a mile from the contamination source.
8. Older homes. These homes have older concrete basements with cracks, open crawl spaces or dirt floors. All of that makes it easier for gas to get into the home. Even newer concrete floors, however, have tiny crcks and most homes have a sump pump which are both openings for gasses.
9. Vapor on every floor. Do not assume vapor stays in the basement. Gasses can go up the staircase or circulate throught he HVAC system. You need to test every floor.
That is how volatile chemicals dumped or buried at a factory years ago become a vapor intrusion problem for nearby homes today.
For more information visit our website at www.collinslaw.com, see our other videos on YouTube, or call one of our attorneys at
(630) 527-1595.
Music: bensound.org
