Home Security Beat

Backyard Dangers

Regardless of whether you have moved to a new neighborhood or you have lived in a neighborhood all of your life, you might be surprised to find out that it’s not as safe as you might have thought it was. Hazardous waste could be lurking in your backyard or it could be a byproduct from a company located a few miles down the road from your house. There are many different scenarios, so it’s wise to conduct your own research when it comes to keeping your family’s health safe.

Although there are regulations on how hazardous waste must be dealt with, there is still potential for leaks, spills and other accidents to occur. The drums that the waste is stored in are not fool proof, so environmental conditions as well as human handling can cause damage to the hazardous waste storage units.

On Aug. 1, the U.S. Navy informed Japan that an American nuclear-powered submarine had been leaking radiation for over two years. The Guam and Pearl Harbor ports were the areas most contaminated. However, the leaks occurred in small amounts, which are believed to cause no threat to the public health or the environment. While the amount of radiation was regarded insignificant, it’s still worrisome that radiation is leaking into the water. For now, the USS Houston is being repaired and the reactor has been disarmed.

Because potential dangers like the one in Japan could be lurking around your home, you should do simple searches to put your mind at ease. In the past, there could have been companies that manufactured chemicals or steel near your home. However, you would not know this now if they no longer exist. To determine if there is a superfund site (hazardous waste site) close to the location of your home or office, you can search the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) website. Basic information such as the type of contaminants released, the contaminants potential of reaching groundwater and the status of the cleanup is provided.

It’s also possible that underground storage tanks (USTs) may have been buried near you. Some states like Ohio monitor these hazardous waste storage units by documenting their location. The Bureau of Underground Storage Tank Regulations (BUSTR) is the organization in Ohio that tracks this information.

Protecting your family’s health as well as the health of the environment is important, but you can’t protect it if you don’t even know the dangers in your backyard.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Tags: backyard dangers, hazardous waste