Testing for lingering pesticide residues in the home
June 24, 2008 5:03 PM   Subscribe

Testing for lingering pesticide residues in the home from professional pesticide application in the 1980s ... who can perform such tests? And then what?

My family had their external wooden deck, several large trees, and (I believe) an external wall or two of the house sprayed in the mid 1980s for carpenter ants. Unfortunately, my folks don't remember which chemical was used, and I suspect Chlordane or something similarly nasty and persistent: when I visit the parents and sleep in rooms with a wall in common with areas sprayed, I have trouble sleeping and feel agitated (symptoms my parents will also complain of, but ascribe to different causes). They are now remodeling their house, and I'm urging them to test for lingering pesticides. Who should we have do such tests (The house is in the pacific NW, specifically Portland), what can we expect to spend, and, if there is contamination, what options exist to remedy the situation? (I want them to integrate a heat-exchange system to draw in outside air and mix it with the central heating/cooling system... but beyond this?)

Any advice or accounts of personal experience with a similar problem would be very much appreciated!
posted by Auden to Home & Garden (1 answer total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
According to the CDC, there are tests that can determine whether you've been exposed. It might be simpler (and cheaper, assuming you're all insured) to do that first, and then tackle the house if chlordane is the culprit.
posted by moxiedoll at 8:11 PM on June 24, 2008


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