Healthy Homes Specialist Certification for Charlotte Company

Pete Hubicki of Get The Lead Out® in Charlotte has earned the Healthy Homes Specialist certification from the National Environmental Health Association and the National Center for Healthy Housing.

“The HHS exam tests your understanding of the connection between health and housing, enabling you to take a holistic approach to identify and resolve problems that threaten the health and well being of residents,” said Pete Hubicki with Get The Lead Out®.  “Many homes fall short of the basic requirements of a healthy home and contain one or more of hazards that adversely affect human health.”

Attributes of an Unhealthy Home

• Mold and pests — such as cockroaches, rodents, and dust mites — can cause and contribute to asthma, allergies, and other respiratory illnesses. Since housing conditions can play a significant role in respiratory health, these hazards can greatly increase and intensify susceptibility to respiratory illnesses.
• Toxic materials such as lead, asbestos, and chemical pesticides can harm human health in a variety of ways. For instance, lead poisoning in children causes reduced IQ and attention span, hyperactivity, impaired growth, reading and learning disabilities, hearing loss, insomnia, and a range of other health, intellectual, and behavioral problems.
• Poisonous gases such as carbon monoxide and radon also pose threats to health. Carbon monoxide poisoning results in more than 200 accidental deaths a year and, at much lower levels, causes flu-like symptoms, which often go undiagnosed. Radon can increase the risk of cancer, which is the second leading cause of death among adults and children in the U.S.

“The ideal way to maintain healthy homes and properties is to practice primary prevention (addressing these hazards before they become dangerous problems) using a holistic approach (tackling many hazards at once),” added Hubicki.

If you would like to learn more about Healthy Home inspections in Charlotte and the Carolinas, please contact Katie Hubicki with Get The Lead Out® at 704-376-3594 or email Katie at koh@gettheleadout.biz.

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Phase 1 ESA Environmental Site Assessments in Charlotte - What are They?

Phase 1 ESA Environmental Site Assessments are surging in demand around the Charlotte area as commercial construction and commercial investors flock back to developing commercial properties.  But what exactly is a Phase 1 ESA?

In general, Get The Lead Out® performs Phase 1 ESAs with a full report identifying any potential or existing environmental contamination liabilities discovered in an existing commercial building and land site.  The actual analysis is called the ESA, or Environmental Site Assessment. 

“The ESA that we perform typically addresses both the underlying land, or building site, as well as any physical improvements that have been performed on the property,” said Kathryn Hubicki, president of Get The Lead Out®.  “The actual sampling of soil, air, groundwater or building materials is typically not conducted during a Phase 1 ESA.”

A Phase 1 ESA from Get The Lead Out® is generally considered the first step in the process of environmental due diligence.  “The standards and steps that we perform for a Phase 1 ESA have been established by the Environmental Protection Agency,” adds Hubicki.  “Now, if our Phase 1 ESA determines that a building site is considered to be contaminated, we then provide a Phase 2 ESA, which is a much more detailed and testing analysis for hazardous substances.”

It is important to point out that any piece of real estate can be the subject of a Phase 1 ESA performed by Get The Lead Out®.  “The testing site does not have to be a site that is going to undergo demolition or renovation,” says Hubicki.  “We perform Phase 1 ESAs on existing and active building sites, schools, churches, manufacturing facilities, office buildings and homes.”

If you would like to learn more about having a Phase 1 Environmental Site Assessment (ESA) performed, please contact Kathryn Hubicki at 704-376-3594 or email koh@gettheleadout.biz.  We can help you determine or uncover any hazardous conditions or substances that may exist on your building site.

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